Sepahsalar-e Tonekaboni
| Sepahsalar-e Tonekaboni سپهسالار تنکابنی |
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| 9th Prime Minister of Iran | |
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In office 30 September 1909 – 25 July 1910 |
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| Monarch | Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar |
| Preceded by | Javad Sa'd al-Dowleh |
| Succeeded by | Mostowfi ol-Mamalek |
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In office 12 March 1911 – 26 July 1911 |
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| Monarch | Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar |
| Preceded by | Mostowfi ol-Mamalek |
| Succeeded by | Najaf-Qoli Samsam al-Saltaneh |
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In office 5 March 1916 – 29 August 1916 |
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| Monarch | Ahmad Shah Qajar |
| Preceded by | Abdol-Hossein Farmanfarma |
| Succeeded by | Vosough od-Dowleh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1848 Tonekabon, Iran |
| Died | 1926 (age 78) Tehran, Iran |
| Political party | Moderate Socialists Party |
Mohammad-Vali Khan, Khalatbari Tonekāboni (Persian: محمدولیخان تنکابنی), (1848 in Tonekabon, Iran – 1926 in Tehran, Iran), known as Sepahdar A'zam was the leader of the constitutionalist revolutionary forces from Iran's Northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran and known as one of the greatest statesmen and military commanders of Persian history as well as its wealthiest nobleman.
He served as colonel for ten years and became Minister of Post and Telegraph as well as Minister of Customs where he was in charge of all imports into and exports out of the Persian empire. Later he became Minister of Treasury where he was singlehandedly in charge of the entire country's coin issue. He also held the title of Minister of Defence and was Prime Minister for four terms. His highest military title was Commander in Chief. He was of the royal Khalatbari family.
As an ethnic Persian, Sepahsalar Khalatbari was the only leader who was able to restore security inside Persia by controlling the ethnic Turkomans inside the kingdom. He was called upon many times by not only the various sectors of the Persian government but also by the Russians to suppress the Turkomans. His enormous wealth with income estimated at US$2 million/year in the early 1900s (the equivalent of $530 million/year in 2000) allowed him to be the chief financier of the Persian Empire where he would use his property as collateral for loans the kingdom obtained from Russia and Britain.
In 1909 he was given the title Sepahdar Azam and was sent by then King Mohammad Ali Shah to crush the Turkoman Azerbaijani constitutionalist uprising in the northwest headed by Baqer Khan and Sattar Khan. He arrived in Azerbaijan but refused to fight the constitutionalist forces deeming it "fratricide". Instead he returned to Tonekabon and due to his genius military skill and national democratic following became the leader of the constitutionalist and anti-royalist forces, the same forces he was sent to crush. As their new leader he first occupied the city of Qazvin and then marched onto Tehran.
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Wikipedia