Seyyed Jalaladdin Tehrani, the President of Council of Monarchy

Akbar Mashuf

 

Son of Seyyed Ali SheikholEslam Marandi, one of the religious figures, Seyyed Jalaladdin Tehrani was born in 1893. He studied in the Tarbiat School and then continued his religious education in Sepahsalar School and became a clergy. He established an observatory in his house, and had connections with the world observatories. Later on, he got much more fame and made relations with Seyyed Hassan Modarress, Mirza Hassan Mostowifi al mamalek, Moshir oddowleh, Teymurtash and Mo’tamen al molk.

 

He was appointed minister of education, but he refused to accept it and continued his work on astronomy.

 

In 1928 when Seyyed Hassan Modarress was detained by brigadier general Dargahi, Seyyed Jalal was also detained and spent some time in the prison.

 

He edited a yearly journal, Gahnameh. He was sent to Brussels and Paris in 1934 to continue his education on astronomy.

 

He married a Belgian (in some sources, a woman from Switzerland) who did not bring him any child. On his return to Iran, he became the minister without portfolio in Qavam’s cabinet. Again minister without portfolio and minister of post, telegraph and telephone in Saaed’s reshuffled cabinet. He was appointed as minister of post, telegraph and telephone in Ali Mansur’s cabinet and replaced Mohsen Sadr as the governor of Khorassan and custodian of Holy Shrine of Imam Reza.

 

He was appointed Iranian minister to the Belgium from 1953 to 1957. He was the selected senator from Tabriz for two periods. Due to his friendship with Imam Khomeini, he acted effectively to save Imam’s life in June 5^th, 1963(15 Khordad 1342) affair. He was the only senator who was against the American advisors immunity bill.

 

In 1976, he entered a contract with the University of Brussels to study the history of astronomy in the East. At the time of revolution he became a member of Shahpur Bakhtiar’s cabinet and was appointed the president of council of monarchy.

 

On the Shah’s departure from Iran, he went to Paris to meet Imam Khomeini who stipulated  that he resigns from his office and announces it as illegal. He did the same; however he did not return to Iran and remained in France. Eventually he died of cancer and his body was returned to Iran to be buried by his mother at the holy cemetery adjacent to the holy shrine of Imam Reza.