Eprim Eshaq

 

Farideh Sharifi

 

Son of a priest, Eprim Eshaq was born in an Assyrian family in Urumia, 6^th Nov. 1918. Due to internal unrest and lack of security, his family migrated to Russia after his birth, but they returned to Iran, 1926. He began his primary education in Tehran and completed it in Urumia. He entered Servat high school in Tehran and became a student of Taghi Arani. Arani asked Anvar Khamei to invite him to their political circle and to Donya journal.

 

He participated in the entrance exam of Bank Melli (the national Bank) and got the scholarship to follow his education in London and was the student of such professors including Alfred Marshal, Kens, and June Robinson. Manager of Bank Melli, AboulHassan Ebtehaj’s visit to London led to his acquaintance with Eprim.

 

Prior to presenting his dissertation, Eprim returned to Iran and became a member of the Tudeh Party and joined Anvar Khamei. After a short while, he organized the Bank Melli Staff union and embarked on a broad political activity. Due to his political activities, he was fired from the bank. Having joined the Tudeh Party for some time, he became critical of the Party and its leaders’ attitude. He wrote two articles: “What should be done”, published in 1945 and “the Tudeh Party Facing Dilemma”, which were published with Jalal Al e Ahmad’s assistance.

 

The articles were an analysis of the successive failures of the Party in the fourteenth Majlis, Qavam’s cabinet and related events to Azerbaijan Democratic Party. The Tudeh Members called Eprim an Intelligent Service agent. In 1949 he left for Cambridge to follow his studies and write his dissertation on the monetary question and the related theories. He got his Ph.D. and published his From Marshal to Kens. From 1953, he was engaged in the secretariat of the United Nations. He was appointed by Dag Hammarskjöld, the general secretary of the United Nations as high official of Economic affairs in Congo to prepare a report from that newly freed colonial. Due to some differences with the general secretary he left the organization for teaching in the Oxford University.

 

He spoke French, Turkish, Armenian, Russian, English and Spanish.

 

He taught in China and made researches in India, Pakistan, Seri Lanka, Thailand and Philippine. He married his economist colleague in Oxford. He had publications in the Times and Guardian. He died because of cancer in Oxford, 24^th Nov. 1998.