Manouchehr Eghbal

Eghbal studied at Darolfonoon, and finished advanced studies in medicine in Paris in 1933.

Eghbal's Cabinet - Ali-Akbar Zargham (far left), Teymur Bakhtiar (fourth from left), Manuchehr Eghbal (center), Jafar Sharif-Emami (left of Eghbal), Jamshid Amouzegar (right of Eghbal), Asadollah Alam (far right)

In 1950, Eghbal was appointed chancellor of Tabriz University, followed by Tehran University in 1954. Five years later he became Iran's envoy to UNESCO. He then taught at Sorbonne for a while and became a member of the French Académie Nationale de Médecine.

He served as the minister of health in Ahmad Ghavam's cabinet, minister of culture in Abdolhosein Hazhir's cabinet, minister of transportation in RajabAli Mansur's cabinet, and interior minister in Mohammad Sa'ed's cabinet. He also served as the governor of East Azarbaijan province.[1]

In April 1957, he became prime minister, replacing Hussein Ala.[1][2] Eghbal continued as prime minister until fall 1960 and was replaced by Sharif Emami.[3] Until his death, he served as a top executive in Iran's National Oil Company. He was also one of the close aides to the Shah.[4]

Eghbal married a French woman and had three daughters. The eldest Nicole became a nun. The second, Monique, married a Swiss surgeon and had a daughter, Muriel. The youngest daughter, Maryam Francoise, first married Prince Mahmoud Reza Pahlavi in October 1964 when she was 18 years old,[5] but the marriage ended in divorce and she married Prince Shahriar Shafiq.

Eghbal died of a heart attack on 25 November 1977 in Tehran, aged 68.

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The following reference was used for the above writing: 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), Iran in the Past Three Centuries (Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh - ايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing - انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). ISBN 964-93406-6-1 (Vol. 1), ISBN 964-93406-5-3 (Vol. 2).