Military government of Gholam-Reza Azhari

On 5 November 1978, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi appointed General Gholam Reza Azhari as prime minister of Iran to lead a military government amid deepening unrest across the country.^[1] The cabinet was officially formed the next day.^[2]

Despite the cabinet's stated purpose, only six of the appointed ministers were military officers, and this number was further reduced in the following weeks. As a result, the highly debated shift to a military government was, in practice, more cosmetic than substantive.^[1] Moreover, the military cabinet members had little experience in their respective areas of responsibility.

Among Azhari's first actions was the arrest and imprisonment of prominent politicians associated with the royal family, including Amir-Abbas Hoveyda, Nematollah Nassiri, Gholamreza Nikpey, and Manouchehr Azmoun. These measures, ostensibly aimed at combating corruption, were intended to appease the revolutionaries.^[3] However, they were instead interpreted as a sign of government weakness.^[3]

On the night of 20 December 1978, Azhari suffered a massive heart attack. He submitted his resignation to the Shah eleven days later and was replaced as prime minister by Shapour Bakhtiar.^[4]

Cabinet members were as follows:^[5][6]

• Iranian Revolution

• Media related to Military government of Gholam-Reza Azhari at Wikimedia Commons