Rastakhiz Party

The Party of Resurrection of the Iranian Nation (Persian: حزب رستاخیز ملت ایران), or simply the Rastakhiz Party (Persian: حزب رستاخیز, romanized: Hezb-e Rastāxiz, lit. 'Resurgence/Resurrection Party'),^[8] was Iran's sole legal political party from 2 March 1975 until 1 November 1978, founded by Mohammad Reza Shah.^[2]

Party of Resurrection of the Iranian Nation حزب رستاخیز ملت ایران
Logo featuring 'Resurrection Party of People of Iran' (center), 'Constitution' (top left), 'Shah–People Revolution' (below), 'Imperial System' (top right) writings in Persian
Founder	Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Founded	2 March 1975 (50 years, 187 days)
Dissolved	1 November 1978 (46 years, 308 days)
Merger of	Iranians' Party New Iran Party[1] People's Party[2]
Worker wing	Worker House
Membership	5,000,000 (1976 est.)[3]
Ideology	Monarchism[4] Populism[5] Iranian nationalism Secularism[6] Democratic centralism[7][8] Fascism (early, theoretical)[7][9] Anti-communism Factions:[2][3] Conservative liberalism Progressivism
Political position	Big tent
Anthem
Politics of Iran Political parties Elections

History

Party Congress, 1976

Founded under the government of Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda, the party has been blamed by some with contributing to the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy by antagonizing formerly apolitical Iranians with its compulsory membership and dues (taxes), and general interference in the political, economic, and religious concerns of people's lives.^[8]

Established along with the party was a youth wing—Rastakhiz Youth—which Hoveyda referred to as "the instrument of Iran's development". Through this youth wing and a special task force of the party, Rastakhiz embarked upon a large-scale anti-profiteering campaign directed against the bazaari merchants, who were soon identified as "enemies of the state". In October 1975, the Shah, referring to this campaign as a "cultural movement", decreed that anti-profiteerism be made the fourteenth principle of the White Revolution.

The single party system ended in late 1978 as the Iranian Revolution gained ground.^[10]

Electoral history

Election	Party leader	Parliament	Senate	Ref
1975	Amir-Abbas Hoveyda	268 / 268	30 / 30	IPU

Leadership

Secretaries-General Name Tenure Ref Amir-Abbas Hoveyda 1975–1976 Jamshid Amouzegar 1976–1977 Mohammad Baheri 1977–1978 Jamshid Amouzegar 1978 [11] Javad Saeed 1978 [11]

Deputy Secretaries-General Name Tenure Ref Fereydoun Mahdavi 1975–1976 [12] Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani 1976–1977 Dariush Homayoon 1977–1978 Javad Saeed 1978 [11]

See also

• List of largest political parties