Reza Azimi

Timsar
Reza Azimi
رضا عظیمی
Azimi in 1953
Minister of War
In office
2 January 1971 – 5 January 1979
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterAmir-Abbas Hoveyda
Jamshid Amouzegar
Jafar Sharif-Emami
Gholam Reza Azhari
Preceded byAsadollah Sanii
Succeeded byJafar Shafaghat
Head of the Imperial Military Household
In office
1969 – 2 January 1971
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterAmir-Abbas Hoveyda
Preceded byOffice Established
Succeeded byJafar Shafaghat
Aide-de-camp General to the of Chief of the Joint Staff
In office
1965 – 2 January 1971
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterAmir-Abbas Hoveyda
Preceded by?
Succeeded byJafar Shafaghat
Commander of the Ground Forces
In office
15 March 1961 – 1965
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterJafar Sharif-Emami
Ali Amini
Asadollah Alam
Hassan Ali Mansur
Amir-Abbas Hoveyda
Preceded byAbdol Hossein Hejazi
Succeeded byEzzatollah Zarghami
First Deputy of the Commander of the Ground Forces
In office
1959 – 15 March 1961
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterManouchehr Eghbal
Preceded by?
Succeeded by?
Inspector General of the Joint Staff
In office
1959–1959
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterManouchehr Eghbal
Preceded by?
Succeeded by?
Military Governor of Tehran
In office
1952–1952
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterMohammad Mosaddegh
Ahmad Qavam
Mohammad Mosaddegh
Preceded byMahmoud Afshartous
Succeeded byAhmad Zangeneh [fa]
Personal details
Born(1909-08-01)1 August 1909
Tehran, Qajar Iran
Died8 September 1999(1999-09-08) (aged 90)
Paris, France
Military service
AllegiancePahlavi Iran Pahlavi Iran
Branch/serviceGround Force
Years of service
1928–1979
Rank General
Commands
  • Inspector General of the Joint Staff (1959)
  • 1st Central Infantry Division [fa] (1953–1955)
  • Western Army
  • Western Corps
  • Head of the Army Personnel Department
  • Tehran Military Police Garrison (1950–1951)
  • Khoy Brigade
  • Chief of Staff of the 2nd Division
Battles/wars

Reza Azimi (Persian: رضا عظیمی; 1 August 1909 – 8 September 1999,) was a senior military officer during the reign of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was a general and held various military and government posts, including commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces and minister of war.

Biography

Early life

Reza Azimi was born in Tehran on 1 August 1909. He completed his primary education at Qajariyeh School and his secondary education at Firouz School before graduating from the Military School. He came from a military family; among his relatives were Brigadier General Farajollah Iravani, Lieutenant General Amir Ahmadi, Brigadier General Heydar Gholi Pesyan, and other military officers.

Education

After completing the two-year program at the Officers' Academy, Azimi graduated in 1930 with the rank of Second Lieutenant. He also completed the advanced course at the War College in 1940.

Military Career

Azimi began his career in the Army Ground Forces. In 1947, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and appointed Chief of Staff of the 2nd Division. After being promoted to Brigadier General, he successively served as commander of the Khoy Brigade, commander of the Tehran Military Police Garrison, head of the Army Personnel Department, director of the Army Inspectorate, and commander of the Western Corps and the Western Army.

Following the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Azimi temporarily commanded the disbanded Imperial Guard Division and was responsible for its reorganization.

Azimi served as the commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces between 1960 and 1965. He left the office due to illness. Then he was made general adjutant to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi which he held until 1971.

Later Azimi served as the minister of war between 1971 and 1977 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hoveyda. He was appointed to the post on 13 September 1971. Azimi was among the nine members of the cabinet who were not Hoveyda's appointees or proteges. His deputy at the ministry was also a retired army officer, Hassan Toufanian. During his tenure Azimi dealt with legislative and budgetary issues, whereas his deputy, Toufanian, was responsible for the procurement of arms in accordance with the Shah's orders.

Azimi retained his post in the succeeding cabinet led by Prime Minister Jamshid Amouzegar between August 1977 and August 1978. Azimi continued to serve in the same post in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami. He was also appointed Minister of War in the military government which was formed by Gholam Reza Azhari in November 1978 and lasted until the end of December.

He fled of to Paris, France after the Revolution.

Death

General Azimi never married. He died in Paris on 8 September 1999 at the age of 91.

References

  1. ↑ مصاحبه با عظیمی، ارتشبد رضا - بنیاد مطالعات ایران - تاریخ شفاهی
  2. ↑ شرح حال رجال سیاسی و نظامی معاصر ایران جلد دوم ص ۱۰۱۰ - باقر عاقلی
  3. ↑ مصاحبه با عظیمی، ارتشبد رضا - بنیاد مطالعات ایران - تاریخ شفاهی
  4. ↑ شرح حال رجال سیاسی و نظامی معاصر ایران جلد دوم ص ۱۰۱۰ - باقر عاقلی
  5. ↑ مصاحبه با عظیمی، ارتشبد رضا - بنیاد مطالعات ایران - تاریخ شفاهی
  6. 1 2 3 4 "General Reza Azimi". Foundation for Iranian Studies. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 Hooshmand Mirfakhraei (1984). The Imperial Iranian armed forces and the revolution of 1978-1979 (PhD thesis). University at Buffalo. p. 254. OCLC 12037858. ProQuest 303350420.
  8. 1 2 Khosrow Fatemi (Winter 1982). "Leadership by Distrust: The Shah's Modus Operandi". The Middle East Journal. 36 (1): 56. JSTOR 4326355.
  9. ↑ "Chronology August 16, 1971-November 15, 1971". The Middle East Journal. 26 (1): 43. 1972. JSTOR 4324874.
  10. 1 2 Iran, a Country Study. Washington DC: Department of Defense. 1978. p. 401.
  11. ↑ "Chronology May 16, 1977-August 15, 1977". The Middle East Journal. 31 (4): 474. 1977. JSTOR 4325678.
  12. ↑ William Branigin (28 August 1978). "New Cabinet Named in Iran Shakeup". Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Chronology August 6, 1978-November 15, 1978". The Middle East Journal. 33 (1): 49. Winter 1979. JSTOR 4325819.
  14. ↑ Sepehr Zabir (2012). The Iranian Military in Revolution and War (RLE Iran D). London; New York: Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-136-81270-5.