Ali Asghar Khan علیاصغر خان |
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3rd Prime Minister of Iran | |
In office 1 May 1907 – 31 August 1907 |
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Monarch | Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar |
Preceded by | Mirza Nasrullah Khan |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni |
Premier of Iran | |
In office 13 March 1887 – 23 November 1896 |
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Preceded by | Mirza Yusuf Khan Astiani |
Succeeded by | Ali Khan Amin ud-Daula |
In office 1 June 1898 – 24 January 1904 |
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Preceded by | Ali Khan Amin ud-Daula |
Succeeded by | Abdol Majid Mirza |
Personal details | |
Born | 6 January 1858 Tehran, Iran |
Died | 31 August 1907 (aged 49) Tehran, Iran |
Mirza Ali Asghar Khan (Persian: میرزا علیاصغر خان); 6 January 1858 – 31 August 1907), also known by his honorific titles of Amin al-Soltan and Atabak, was the last prime minister of Iran under Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.
Ali Asghar was born on 6 January 1858. He was the second son of Agha Ebrahim, an influential court minister of Georgian origin. When Ali Asghar was 15 years old, he began helping his father in politics. The next year, Ali Asghar and his father accompanied Naser al-Din Shah to his pilgrimage to the holy Shi'a cities of Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiya, and Samarra.
When Ali Asghar returned to his native Tehran, he was promoted to commander of the royal escort cavalry, and in the following years continued to rise to higher offices, eventually bwing promoted to the treasurer of the army. After the death of his father in 1883, he received the latter's honorific title "Amin al-Soltan" and became the Justice Minister. A few years later he received the title of "Atabak" and took over the post of Prime Minister.
After Naser's assassination in 1896, Ali Asghar helped by securing the throne and its secure transfer to his son, Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar. In November 1896, Ali Asghar was dismissed from his prime minister office by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. Ali Asghar then initially retired to Qom, later traveled through Russia to China and Japan, and then emigrated to Switzerland. During the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, the new Qajar king Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar invited Ali Asghar back to Iran.