Abdolhossein Teymourtash

**Abdolhossein Teymourtash** is a politician serving in the Iranian Parliament, and is the leader of the far-right National Populist Progress Party of Iran. Given his early significance in the political change and transformation of Iran in the early 1900s he played a significant role in the Iranian Revolution of 1919 which opened up to national attention, before founding the Progress Party in the aftermath of the 1933 general election which saw the Islamic Republican Party under Hassan Modarres ascend to political dominance in the country.

## Early life and rise to political prominence

Abdolhossein Khan Teymourtash (Sardar Moazam Khorasani) was born into a prominent family in 1883. His father, Karimdad Khan Nardini (Moa'zes al Molk), was a major landowner with extensive landholdings in Khorasan, Iran's northern province neighbouring the then Imperial Russia's Central Asia (now the Merv Khanate). To provide his son with the best educational opportunities available to affluent Iranians of the late 19th century, Teymourtash's father dispatched him at the age of 11 to Tsarist Russia to receive a formal education.

Given his extensive absence from Iran, one of the first tasks Teymourtash set for himself upon returning to his native Iran was to retire to the seclusion of his family estates with the task of improving his Persian. With the help of a tutor, he spent approximately the first six months following his return to Iran to perfecting his native linguistic skills and devouring Persian poetry and literary masterpieces. His discipline and foresight during the period would serve him well, leading him, in due course, to be described as Iran's most gifted orator in its modern parliamentary experience. Another fortuitous development during the early years of his return to Iran, was his marriage to Sorour ol Saltaneh, the niece of the regent, Azod al Molk, and a relative of the Governor of Khorasan, Nayer al Dowleh. To congratulate the new couple on their wedding, the reigning Qajar Shah of the period bestowed the title Sardar Moazzam Khorasani on the young groom.

Teymourtash's first employment upon returning to Iran was with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as a minor bureaucrat while acting as a Russian translator. Shortly thereafter, Teymourtash's father's connections to the court proved decisive and the 24‑year‑old was appointed a member of a newly constituted delegation mandated to visit several European capitals to herald the inauguration of a new Qajar King to the throne, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar.

## The Constitutional Revolution of 1905

Just as the last year of Teymourtash's stay in St. Petersburg coincided with the uprisings and revolts that would culminate in the Russian Revolution of 1905, Iran was soon to find itself in the convulsive throes of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

Despite his father's staunch royalist tendencies and his ties to the royal court, young Teymourtash became an active member of the constitutional society headed by Malik al-Mutakallimin in Khorasan. While the rank and file of this particular society consisted mainly of lesser tradesman and poorer people, and included amongst its active membership very few educated notables, Teymourtash demonstrated his progressive tendencies by developing a strong affinity for the constitutional ideals and thrust of this gathering and assumed a leading role in the group.

Teymourtash's active involvement in constitutional gatherings led, in due course, to his appointment as chief of staff of the populist constitutionalist forces resisting the reigning monarch's decision to storm the buildings of Parliament. The constitutionalists forces eventually took sanctuary in Parliament to demand constitutionally entrenched rights and safeguards. Throughout the period, Teymourtash remained directly involved by training members of the constitutionalist volunteer militia, and demonstrated much bravery when clashes took place with the better trained and more numerous royalist forces. Despite the staunch efforts of the constitutionalists, the royalist forces prevailed by storming Parliament and dissolving the National Assembly.

## The Iranian Revolution of 1919

Despite his willingness to cooperate with the Qajar and noble ruling classes of Iranian society, the ongoing Cairo War and the collapse of the Suez Canal was the stick that broke the camel’s back. Teymourtash, for his part when the Iranian economy collapsed was one of the first willing to push for Republican reforms within society, which was the first instance of Teymourtash’s hope to mold Iran into a modern Westernized state.

Shortly before a revolutionary crowd took control of Tehran, Teymourtash was one of many politicians rallying the people of the city , and his “Down with the monarchs!” speech which gave him national recognition. With the takeover of Tehran and after Iran was politically consolidated, Teymourtash was one of many politicians who signed the Republican Constitution of 1920.

Soon after, he founded the Revival Party, a now dead political party founded in liberal, secular and Iranian nationalist sentiments.

## Participation within the parliament

Teymourtash’s hopes for the new republic were quickly dashed as Iran turned away into an Islamic anti-Western democracy. Teymourtash’s Revival Party and soon after the Progress Party turned into a popular movement for those against the current status quo, even attracting a few liberal members before transitioning into a far-right party.

Serving in parliament for many years, Teymourtash has gained notoriety for his political experience and unforgiving attitude towards the Islamic Republican Party's incompetence, one of many reasons the Progress Party has been increasingly popular. As he has stated he plans to run for the 1937 general elections, it is not known whether the Progress Party can triumph over the still powerful IRP.