Persian foreign minister Vosugh od-Dowleh resigns
- Category:
- Politics
- Front:
- Middle East
- Date:
- 18 August 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
- Tags:
- Persia, Vosugh od-Dowleh
According to chronicles of the war from the time, on 18 August 1914 Vosugh od-Dowleh, who had held the post since January 1913, resigned as foreign minister of Persia. His resignation preceded a change of the whole government in the following days.
Persia between the powers
Persia, ruled by the Qajar dynasty, was in 1914 a weak state dependent on the great powers. Under the agreement of 1907 Russia and Great Britain had divided it into spheres of influence: a Russian one in the north and a British one in the south. The young Ahmad Shah had been crowned and assumed full power only in July 1914, on coming of age.
The outbreak of war put the country in a difficult position. On one side stood Russia and Great Britain, which controlled a large part of Persia. On the other stood Germany, and soon also the Ottoman Empire, which enjoyed the sympathy of part of the Persian elite, resentful of Russian and British domination.
Vosugh od-Dowleh
Vosugh od-Dowleh was one of the most influential Persian politicians of the era. He was regarded as a supporter of cooperation with Great Britain. In later years he twice headed the government, and in 1919 he concluded an agreement with Great Britain that in practice made Persia a British protectorate. The agreement caused a storm in the country and never came into force.
Significance
The resignation of August 1914 was part of the reshuffling of the Persian government in the first weeks of the war. In November 1914 the new cabinet declared Persia’s neutrality. Even so, the country did not escape the war: Russian, British and Ottoman troops fought on its territory, and the fighting brought enormous losses to the population, including famine in the last years of the war.
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Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 19 August 1914 · Middle EastChange of government in PersiaOn 19 August 1914 the Persian Prime Minister Ala al-Saltaneh stepped down and took the foreign ministry. Mostowfi ol-Mamalek became head of government.
- 20 February 1915 · Middle EastNew Persian foreign ministerAccording to a British chronology, on 20 February 1915 Mo'aven od-Dowleh replaced Ala al-Saltaneh as Persian foreign minister. Persia barely kept neutral.
- 14 March 1915 · Middle EastNew prime minister of PersiaOn 14 March 1915 Hassan Pirnia, Moshir od-Dowleh, succeeded Mostowfi ol-Mamalek as head of the Persian government. The country still sought to stay neutral.
- 27 April 1915 · Middle EastAin od-Dowleh becomes prime minister of PersiaPer the British chronology, on 27 April 1915 Ain od-Dowleh, premier in the Constitutional Revolution era, again led Persia. A new foreign minister came in too.