Person Of The Year Analysis

TIME Magazine: Person of the Year In the article previously written about Mohammed Mossadegh, Iran’s once great leader, he was portrayed as anything but worthy of Man of the Year. Rather, he looked weak and deadly for Iran’s future. In a portion of the article, they discussed his effects on Iran, “His acid tears dissolved one of the remaining pillars of a great empire.” , making him out to be detrimental to Iran. While he admittedly had some struggles, given his background and the global situation, Mossadegh made a name for himself, and deserved to be 1952’s Man of the Year. Mossadegh was born in 1882 into a governmental family. His father was the Minister of Finance for Iran, and his mother was a princess to the Qajar Dynasty. Mossadegh
was 9 years old at the time of time of the Tobacco Revolt, a protest by the people of the Shah’s decision to sell Iranian tobacco rights to Britain. From this early age, Mossadegh was already seeing the negative effects of the government on the Iranian people. While still in his youth, his father died, leaving him to be raised by his mother. A few years later in 1901, the Shah sold the exclusive right to produce and sell Iran’s oil to William Knox D’Arcy, a London man. This is the act to which Mohammad Mossadegh based his political career around. He felt that the products coming from Iranian soil should benefit the Iranians, not the British. The situation worsened in 1919 when the British imposed the Anglo-Persian Agreement. The agreement gave control of Iran’s army, treasury, transport system, and communications to the British. When Mossadegh was 16 years old, he held his first government position. He was chief tax auditor for his home province of Khorasan. Even from his first position, people had wonderful things to say about him. One visitor recalled, “Among men of intelligence and learning, his decorum cannot be surpassed. He speaks, behaves, and receives people with respect, humility and courtesy…” . From here forward, Mossadegh was in and out of politics for the rest of his life. During the first election for the new governing body, the Majlis, Mohammad Mossadegh won a seat from Isfahan, however, he could not claim his seat due to being underage.
While he was passionate, the original TIME article was not completely inaccurate in their descriptions of the man. While he was in intellectual, he was also sensitive to any criticism or disagreements that he faced, “…but when he found others unreceptive, he would storm off for long periods of brooding silence”. His first noted outburst was in 1909. During the fight for a Majlis, he decided that rather than stay and fight, he would flee. He even went so far as to say that, “…Iran was not ready for enlightenment…” , he declared on his way out of the country. Despite his emotional downfalls, Mossadegh was still able to evolve into a notable political leader. During his time in the Majlis, Reza proposed that the Qajar dynasty be abolished and he be named Shah. Despite Mossadegh’s emotional speech, the Majlis voted in favor of Reza. After taking the throne, he offered the position of foreign minister to Mohammad Mossadegh, not surprisingly, he declined. In 1926, after the reelection on the Majlis, Mossadegh refused to take oath due to the fact he refused to “respect the Shah’s authority” , nobody questioned him and he was able to take his
seat. In 1951, Mohammad Mossadegh became Prime Minister of Iran. His focus was the nationalization of oil. People supported his endeavors for quite some time. The British on the other hand were not in his fan club. He rejected every offer they made, and in their eyes, the ones he made were too radical. The negative views displayed by TIME were from these years. He can be blamed for his own downfall in the context that he refused to compromise, and declined mediation help from the United States when it was offered. His hardheadedness is ultimately what led to his downfall. On August 15th, 1953, the start of his downfall began. Operation AJAX was underway. This was an attempt to overthrow Mossadegh and replace him with someone who was better at cooperating, Fazlollah Zahedi. However, on that night in August, the coup proved unsuccessful. It was not until a second attempt that Britain and The United States would successfully remove Mossadegh from office. It was carried out through a series of paid mobs, radio announcements, and finally a speech from Zahedi himself, declaring himself as Prime Minister. Looking back on the events of the 1953 coup, many people were at fault. For starters is the British and Mossadegh. Neither was willing to compromise over the Iranian oil, causing hostility from both ends. The Americans are to blame as well. Weather Eisenhower was in the know or not, he approved the use of the CIA and other needs of the British and therefore shares in the blame. Kermit Roosevelt, the leader of the coup, was an American. The coup would not have been successful without his determination and persistence. Not all Americans agreed with the coup, “U.S. complicity in these events figured prominently in the terrorist attacks on American citizens and instillations…” . This is just one example of someone deliberately blaming the U.S. for future casualties based on their involvement in Iran. Mossadegh was a stubborn man. However, so were the British. While his actions resulted in the downfall of Iranian society, the blame must be shared with Britain and the United States for the destruction of Tehran in 1953. He was a passionate man who was willing to stand up for what he believed in, regardless of what consequences that may have. Some called him selfish, others called him honorable, but his political career rightfully earned him the title of 1952’s Man of the Year.