Reza Rasouli

Reza Rasouli
Trade and Economy Minister of Azerbaijan's Government
In office 1945–1946
Personal details
Born	1898 Tabriz, Iran
Political party	Azerbaijani Democratic Party

Reza Rasouli (1892, Tabriz – 1984, Tehran) — was an Iranian politician and public figure, and a participant in the 21 Azar movement. He served as Minister of Trade and Economy in the Azerbaijan People's Government.

Following the collapse of the Azerbaijan People's Government, Rasouli went into hiding in Tabriz for two years to avoid persecution. During this time, he wrote his memoirs. In 1948, he was arrested. After his release, he resided in Tehran.

Rza Rasuli was born in 1892 in Tabriz.^[1] After completing his education, he held senior positions in the Iranian Ministry of Internal Affairs.^[2] Over the years, he served in this ministry in Tabriz, Isfahan, and Kermanshah.^[1] He was later appointed mayor of Maragha. In 1942, he was invited to Tabriz and began working in the Tabriz municipality.^[1][3]

Following the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party in 1945, Rasuli became a member of the party's Central Inspection Commission.^[4] On 20 November 1945, the Azerbaijan People's Congress convened at the Arg Theatre in Tabriz.^[5][6][7] Rasuli participated as a delegate.^[8] On 12 December 1945, the National Government of Azerbaijan was established,^[9] and Rasuli was appointed Minister of Trade and Economy in the newly formed government.^{[10][11][12][13]}

On 5 December 1946, Shah’s troops advancing toward Miyaneh were halted by fedai forces under the command of Ghulam Yahya.^[14][15] In response, residents from various regions of Azerbaijan appealed to the National Government for arms to resist the Shah’s forces.^[16] Subsequently, under the leadership of Mir Jafar Pishevari, a Defense Committee was established.^[17][18] Its first actions were to declare martial law in Tabriz and to form volunteer units known as Babak.^[16][19][20] In the initial phase, these units numbered about 600 members.^[18][21] Pishevari again appealed to the Soviet Union for military assistance,^[16][22] but the request went unanswered.^[23]

On 11 December 1946, the Azerbaijan Provincial Assembly, in an effort to prevent bloodshed, resolved that the Qizilbash People’s Army and fedai forces should not resist the Shah’s troops and should withdraw from the battlefields.^[24][25][26]From that day forward, before the Iranian army entered major cities, armed bands led by landlords and plainclothes gendarmes began committing massacres in those areas.^[27][28] Tehran Radio referred to these groups as “Iranian patriots.”^[28] Their primary objective was to eliminate the Democrats and facilitate the entry of the Shah’s forces into the cities.^[27][28]

Tabriz and other Azerbaijani cities were subjected to widespread looting and massacres.^[27][29] The National Government of Azerbaijan collapsed.^{[30] [31]} OOn 14 December 1946, the Iranian army, supported by the United States and Great Britain, entered Tabriz.^[32][33] Looting and massacres continued thereafter.^[29][32] Thousands of people were arrested and exiled.^[34] Among those killed during the massacres were members of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party, fedais, and notable poets such as Ali Fitrat, Sadi Yuzbendi, Jafar Kashif, and Mohammadbaghir Niknam.^[35][36][37]

During this period, Rza Rasuli went into hiding in Tabriz for two years to escape persecution. While in hiding, he began writing his memoirs.^[38] On 28 November 1948, with the guarantee of several acquaintances, he travelled to Tehran and surrendered to the military prosecutor’s office.^[39] After a series of trials, he was sentenced to five years in prison. In November 1949, he was pardoned and released.^[39]

Rasuli died in 1984 in Tehran and was buried in Imamzadeh Abdullah Cemetery in the city of Rey, alongside his father and son.^[39]