Sadegh Ghotbzadeh | |
---|---|
Ghotbzadeh in 1980
|
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 29 November 1979 – 3 August 1980 |
|
President | Abolhassan Banisadr |
Prime Minister | Mohammad-Ali Rajaei |
Preceded by | Abolhassan Banisadr |
Succeeded by | Karim Khodapanahi |
Head of National Radio and Television | |
In office 11 February 1979 – 29 November 1979 |
|
Appointed by | Islamic Revolution Council |
Preceded by | Reza Ghotbi |
Succeeded by | Provisional Council |
Personal details | |
Born | 24 February 1936 Isfahan, Iran |
Died | 15 September 1982 Evin prison, Tehran, Iran |
(aged 46)
Nationality | Iranian |
Political party |
|
Sadegh Ghotbzadeh (Persian: صادق قطبزاده, 24 February 1936 – 15 September 1982) was a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini during his 1978 exile in France, and foreign minister (30 November 1979–August 1980) during the Iran hostage crisis following the Iranian Revolution. In 1982, he was executed for allegedly plotting the assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
Ghotbzadeh was born in Isfahan in 1936. He had a sister and a brother. His father was a wealthy lumber merchant.
As a student, he was active in the student branch of the National Front following the toppling of Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. He left Iran in 1959 after being detained twice due to his opposition activities to the Shah's regime; he lived in Europe, the US and Canada. Ghotbzadeh was a supporter of the National Front of Iran. In addition he was one of the senior members of the Freedom Movement of Iran led by Mehdi Bazargan in the 1960s.
He attended Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service from 1959 to 1963. He contributed to the movement from the US. He was part of the more radical wing of the movement together with Ebrahim Yazdi, Mostafa Chamran and Ali Shariati. However, he was dismissed from the school before graduating due to his skipping studies and exams to lead protests against the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, including storming a posh party hosted by the then Iranian ambassador to the United States, the son-in-law of the Shah, Ardeshir Zahedi.