Assieh Ale Ahmad

Son of Prince Mohammad Ali Khan Ala-os-saltaneh, Hossein Ala was born in Tehran, 1881. He went to primary and high school in London. As his father was the Iranian minister to London, he entered the service of Iranian legation in London as attaché when he was seventeen. Later he became third and second secretary of the legation. Simultaneously, he was studying law in the University of London.

Following the constitutional revolution, Ala-os-saltaneh appointed his son, Hossein as the chef de cabinet of the foreign ministry. He was appointed minister of public welfare in Mostofi-al-mamlik’s cabinet.

He was a member of Iranian delegation to the Versailles peace conference. On his return he was appointed Iranian minister to Spain and subsequently to the United States. On his return, he became a Majlis member from Tehran. He joined Seyyed Hassan Modarres, Taghizadeh, and Dr. Mossadeq and rejected the Majlis unique article to depose Ahmad Shah and the temporary cession of the government to Reza Pahlavi. Some of his appointments from 1933 to 1950 were as minister of court, minister of foreign affairs, manager of Bank Melli Iran and Iranian representative in the League of Nations for several terms.

Following Razmara’s assassination in early March, 1950, the Majlis showed its inclination to Ala’s being appointed as the prime minister. He was to form his cabinet but the oil crisis caused him to resign and return to the ministry of court. Again, he received orders from the Shah to hold the office of prime minister. Immediately after the formation of the cabinet he left for Europe for treatment, and Abdollah Entezam was acting in his place.

He narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in a memorial service of Seyyed Mostafa Kashani held in Soltani mosque, October 1955. It was made by one of the Fadaian Islam members.

The Baghdad treaty was concluded at the time of his premiership. He resigned from his office in 1956 and again was the minister of the court. He was appointed senator from Shiraz to the Senate until 1963.

He died in 1964. His wife was Fatemeh Qaraghozlu, daughter of Nasser-ol-molk, Ahmad Shah’s regent.