Interim Government of Iran (1979)

For the Provisional Government of Council of the Islamic Revolution, see Interim Government of Iran (1979–80). For the Provisional Government of Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, see Interim Government of Iran (1981). For the transition government in waiting, see Iran transition government.

The Interim Government of Iran (Persian: دولت موقت ايران, romanized: Dowlat-e Movaqat-e Irân) was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. It was formed by the order of Ruhollah Khomeini on 4 February 1979, and headed by Mehdi Bazargan.^[1] For a week, both Bazargan and Shapour Bakhtiar, the Shah's last appointed prime minister, claimed to be the legitimate leader of the Iranian government; the dispute ended when Bakhtiar fled to France on 11 February 1979.^[2] Bazargan then introduced a seven-member cabinet on 14 February, with Ebrahim Yazdi named foreign minister.^[3]

Provisional Revolutionary and Islamic Government of Iran
Interim Cabinet of Iran
Mehdi Bazargan and his cabinet in 1979
Date formed	4 February 1979 (1979-02-04)
Date dissolved	6 November 1979 (1979-11-06)
People and organisations
Head of state	Ruhollah Khomeini
Head of government	Mehdi Bazargan
Deputy head of government	None
No. of ministers	18
Ministers removed	7
Total no. of members	27
Member party	Freedom Movement National Front (Iran Party, Party of the Iranian People, Nation Party) JAMA
History
Election	None
Legislature term	None
Predecessor	Government of Shapour Bakhtiar
Successor	Interim Government of Iran (1979–80)

The constitution of the newly-formed Islamic Republic of Iran was adopted by referendum on 24 October 1979, with plans to encode it on 3 December 1979. Before that could happen, however, the Interim Government resigned en masse on 6 November, just two days after the takeover of the American embassy.^[4] As a result, the Council of the Islamic Revolution took over. It formed the second Interim Government of Iran (1979–80), which led the country until the establishment of the first Islamic Consultative Assembly on 12 August 1980. Bazargan was elected to the Assembly, representing the Tehran district.^[5]

Formation

When Khomeini returned to a revolutionary Iran after his 15-year exile, he sought a transitional government to govern until a new constitution could be ratified. However, he faced opposition from Shapour Bakhtiar, whom the outgoing Shah had tasked with establishing a civlian administration^[6] On 4 February 1979, Khomeini issued a decree appointing Bazargan, a veteran member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, as the prime minister of a "Provisional Islamic Revolutionary Government" (PRG).

A decree stated:

Based on the proposal of the Revolutionary Council and in accordance with the canonical and legal rights which originated from the vote of overwhelming majority of Iranian nation for leadership of the movement which has been represented in the vast gatherings and wide and numerous demonstrations across Iran and because of my utmost trust on your firm belief in the holy tenets of Islam and my knowledge of your precedent in Islamic and national struggles, I appoint you the authority to establish the interim government without consideration of any affiliation to any parties or dependence on any factional groups, for formation of temporary government to arrange organizing of country affairs and especially perform a referendum and refer to public vote of nation about turning the country into Islamic republic and formation of "The Council of the Founders" from the representatives of people to approve of constitution of new regime and to hold elections of representatives of parliament of nation on the basis of the new constitution. It is necessary that you appoint and introduce the members of the temporary government as soon as possible in concordance with the conditions I have clarified. All public offices, the army, and citizens shall furnish their utmost cooperation with your interim government so as to attain the high and holy goals of this Islamic revolution and to restore order and function to the affairs of the nation. I pray to God for the success of you and your interim government in this sensitive juncture of our nation's history.

— Ruhollah Khomeini.^[7]

Elaborating further on his decree, Khomeini made it clear that Iranians were religiously obliged to obey Bazargan and the new government.

As a man who, though the guardianship [Velayat] that I have from the holy lawgiver [the Prophet], I hereby pronounce Bazargan as the Ruler, and since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed. The nation must obey him. This is not an ordinary government. It is a government based on the sharia. Opposing this government means opposing the sharia of Islam...revolt against God's government is a revolt against God. Revolt against God is blasphemy.^[8]

Khomeini's statement came before the Iranian Army announced it would remain neutral in conflicts between revolutionaries and guardians of the government left in place by the Shah.^[9] Bakhtiar, rendered powerless, resigned the same day the army announced its decision, 11 February 1979, which is now officially remembered in Iran as the Islamic Revolution's Victory Day.^[10]

The new provisional government, however, was described as "subordinate" to the Revolutionary Council, having had difficulty dealing with conflicting messages and decision-making from the latter.^[11]

Members of the cabinet

According to historian Mohammad Ataie, the cabinet consisted of two main factions: moderates and radicals.^[12] Most of the cabinet members were nationalist veterans and sympathizers of the Freedom Movement of Iran, with a few from the National Front.^[13]

Bazargan reshuffled his cabinet several times following the resignation of ministers who were unable to deal with parallel sources of power. In several cases, a ministry was supervised by an acting minister or by Bazargan himself.

The list of members on the cabinet was as follows:

Cabinet members

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party		Ref
Prime Minister	Mehdi Bazargan	4 February 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Deputy Prime Minister for Public Relations and Administration	Abbas Amir-Entezam	13 February 1979	August 1979		FMI
	Sadegh Tabatabaei	August 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Deputy Prime Minister for Revolutionary Affairs	Ebrahim Yazdi	13 February 1979	12 April 1979		FMI	[14]
	Mostafa Chamran	12 April 1979	29 September 1979		FMI
Deputy Prime Minister for Transitional Affairs	Hashem Sabbaghian	13 February 1979	20 June 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Interior	Ahmad Sayyed Javadi	13 February 1979	20 June 1979		FMI	[14][15]
	Hashem Sabbaghian	20 June 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14][15]
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Karim Sanjabi	13 February 1979	1 April 1979		NF	[14]
	Mehdi BazarganA	1 April 1979	12 April 1979		FMI	[14]
	Ebrahim Yazdi	12 April 1979	12 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Health	Kazem Sami	13 February 1979	29 October 1979		JAMA	[14][15]
Minister of Agriculture	Ali-Mohammad Izadi	18 February 1979	6 November 1979		NF	[14]
Minister of Information	Nasser Minachi	22 February 1979	6 November 1979		Independent	[14]
Minister of Energy	Abbas Taj	18 February 1979	6 November 1979		IAE	[14]
Minister of Post	Mohammad Hassan Eslami	22 February 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Finance	Ali Ardalan	15 February 1979	6 November 1979		NF	[14]
Ministry of Housing	Mostafa Katiraei	13 February 1979	6 November 1979		IAE	[14]
Minister of Labour	Dariush Forouhar	13 February 1979	29 September 1979		NF	[14][15]
	Ali Espahbodi	30 September 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14][15]
Ministry of Roads	Yadollah Taheri	13 February 1979	6 November 1979		IAE	[14]
Ministry of Industries	Mahmoud Ahmadzadeh	18 February 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Ministry of Commerce	Reza Sadr	18 February 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Culture	Ali Shariatmadari	5 February 1979	1 October 1979		JAMA	[14]
	Hassan Habibi	1 October 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Education	Gholam Hossein Shokouhi	22 February 1979	29 September 1979		Independent	[14]
	Mohammad-Ali RajaiA	29 September 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of Justice	Asadollah Mobasheri	18 February 1979	20 June 1979		NF	[14]
	Ahmad Sayyed Javadi	20 June 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister of National Defense	Ahmad Madani	22 February 1979	2 March 1979		NF	[14][15]
	Taghi Riahi	2 March 1979	18 September 1979		NF	[15][16]
	Mostafa Chamran	30 September 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[15]
Minister of Petroleum	Ali Akbar Moinfar	29 September 1979	6 November 1979		IAE	[14]
Minister without Portfolio for Revolutionary Projects	Yadollah Sahabi	18 February 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister without Portfolio for Plan and Budget	Ali Akbar Moinfar	13 February 1979	29 September 1979		IAE	[14]
	Ezzatollah Sahabi	29 September 1979	6 November 1979		FMI	[14]
Minister without Portfolio for Provincial Inspection	Dariush Forouhar	29 September 1979	6 November 1979		NF	[14]
Minister without Portfolio for Executive Affairs	Hossein Baniasadi	29 September 1979	6 November 1979		FMI
Deputy Prime Minister for Physical Education	Hossein Shah-Hosseini	February 1979	6 November 1979		NF
Deputy Prime Minister for Environment	Abbas Sami'i	February 1979	23 August 1979		FMI

Resignation

Bazargan and his entire cabinet resigned on 6 November 1979, just two days after a student group approved by Khomeini took sixty-six American Embassy officials hostage. In his resignation letter to Khomeini, Bazargan lamented that "repeated interferences, inconveniences, objections and disputes have made [The Interim Government] unable to continue [meeting its] duties."

Power then passed into the hands of the Council of the Islamic Revolution. Bazargan had been a supporter of the original revolutionary draft constitution rather than theocracy by Islamic jurist, and his resignation was received by Khomeini without protest, who stated that "Mr. Bazargan...was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake."^[17] Bazargan, on the other hand, described the government as a "knife without blade."^[18]

See also

• Iran portal
• Politics portal

• Interim Government of Iran (1981)
• Iranian Revolution
• Iran hostage crisis