Abbas Milani, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Belmont's College of Notre Dame, has recently published a new biography about Amir Abbas Hoveyda, a former Prime Minister of Iran, entitled "The Persian Sphinx." This book deals with Hoveyda's life and political career; his appointment to Prime Minister in 1965, by the Shah of Iran; his subsequent arrest, imprisonment, and execution. The book also chronicles the extensive role that the American government played in Iranian politics in the sixties and seventies. Based on recently declassified U.S. government documents, the book shows that for the past thirty years, the question of democracy has been central to American foreign policy in Iran.
The book's author, Persian born Abbas Milani, lived in Iran, and was a student of Iranian politics during most of Hoyveda's tenure. Milani has also authored two other books. A tranlation of "King of the Benighted", a novella by Manachehr Irani. "Tales of Two Cities: a Persian Memoir", is Milani's biography. It includes details about his arrest and imprisonment for expressing political views, while teaching at the University of Tehran.
"The Persian Sphinx", an extensive biography, took Milani over four years to write. It involved extensive research, and over 130 interviews with friends, acquaintances, and foes of Prime Minister Hoyveda.
This significant book tells the story of a central political figure, and his role in the struggle in Iran between modernity and traditionalism. During the thirteen years serving as a Prime Minister, Hoveyda sought to free Iran from poverty and repression, and to usher the country into the modern age.
Dr. Milani says of Hoveyda, " He lived at the height between Iran's historic struggle between modernity and tradition." As it the threat of a revolution began to rise, however, the Shah tried to create a scapegoat by ordering the arrest and imprisonment of Hoveyda. On January 16, 1979, the Shah and his family fled Iran. But they left behind their trusted Prime Minister, Amir Abbas Hoveyda.
When the new revolutionary government took power on February 11, 1979, Hoveyda was still in prison. Rather than risk an escape attempt, he chose to stay and surrender to the Islamic victors. This left Hoyveda in the unfortunate position of being the only high-ranking official and the only Prime Minister of the previous regime to fall into the hands of the victors. Dr. Milani says of Hoyveda, "He was a true intellectual, a man of cosmopolitan flair, a liberal at heart who served an illiberal master."
This book is not only a must read for those interested the life of an important Iranian political figure, and his role in shaping Iran's transition from traditionalism to modernity. It also offers exciting behind-the-scenes investigative reporting, and documentation about a turbulent era in Iran's history, and it's impact on United States foreign policy
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