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Mehdi Bazargan

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Mehdi Bazargan was an Iranian engineer, political activist, and advocate of constitutional and democratic government. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appointed him prime minister of the provisional government, making him the first head of government of the new Islamic Republic. Bazargan resigned with his cabinet during the Iran hostage crisis and later remained a critic of concentrated clerical power.

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What position did Mehdi Bazargan hold after the Iranian Revolution?

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appointed Bazargan prime minister of Iran's provisional government on February 4, 1979. He became the first head of government during the transition after the monarchy fell. [Encyclopaedia Iranica](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hostage-crisis/)

Why is Mehdi Bazargan associated with constitutional democracy?

Bazargan was a French-educated engineer who argued that Islam could be compatible with freedom, science and democratic government. He helped found the Freedom Movement of Iran in 1961, a group that supported constitutional rule and civil rights. [Encyclopaedia Iranica](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-xiii-islamic-political-movements-in-20th-century-iran/)

What did Mehdi Bazargan do before becoming prime minister?

Before 1979, he was known as an engineer, university academic and political activist rather than a cleric or military commander. His French education and work in modern science shaped his belief in constitutional government. [Encyclopaedia Iranica](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-xiii-islamic-political-movements-in-20th-century-iran/)

Why did Mehdi Bazargan's provisional government resign?

Bazargan and his cabinet resigned in November 1979, and Khomeini accepted the resignation on November 6. The US embassy takeover formed the immediate crisis, but Bazargan also complained that his cabinet had become politically powerless. [Encyclopaedia Iranica](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khomeini-i-life/)

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