Senate

Persian: مجلس سنا, romanized: Majles-e Senā
Type
Type
History
Founded25 January 1950 (1950-01-25)[1]
Disbanded11 February 1979 (1979-02-11)
Seats60
Elections
First election
1949
Last election
1975
Meeting place
Tehran, Iran
Constitution
Persian Constitution of 1906

The Senate (Persian: مجلس سنا, romanized: Majles-e Senā) was the upper house legislative chamber in the Imperial State of Iran from 1949 to 1979. A bicameral legislature had been established in the 1906 Persian Constitutional Revolution but the Senate was not actually formed until after the 1949 Constituent Assembly election, as an expression of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's desire for better distribution of power (similar to many democratic countries). Half of the sixty seats in the senate were directly appointed by the Shah, and the other half were directly elected, fifteen represented Tehran, and the rest were elected from other regions.[2]

The Senate was disbanded after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when the new constitution established a unicameral legislature. As of 2023, the former Senate building was used by the Assembly of Experts.

History

Constitution

Established as per Chapter 3, Article 45 of the Persian Constitution of 1906,

The Members of this Assembly shall be chosen from amongst the well-informed, discerning, pious and respected persons of the Realm. Thirty of them shall be nominated on the part of His Imperial Majesty (fifteen of the people of Tehran, and fifteen of the people of the Provinces), and thirty by the Nation (fifteen elected by the people of Tehran, and fifteen by the people of the Provinces).

Building

The Senate House of Iran was designed by architect Heydar Ghiaï in 1955.[3] The construction was led by Rahmat Safai, the dome being one of the most technically challenging projects in the entire endeavor.

The building is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 100 rials banknote.[4]

Members

Jafar Sharif-Emami, as President of the Senate until 1978

List of speakers

Name Term of office
Ebrahim Hakimi 19 August 1951 1 March 1957
Hassan Taqizadeh 1 March 1957 1 September 1960
Mohsen Sadr 11 September 1960 11 September 1964
Jafar Sharif-Emami 11 September 1964 24 March 1978
Mohammad Sajadi 24 March 1978 10 February 1979

Dissolution

During its years of activity, the Senate was once dissolved in May 1961.[9]

Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, the government became unicameral, the senate was dissolved and the new Majlis convened in the senate building.

Elections

Votes cast

Provincial Capital Seats Votes Cast
1963 1967 1971
Tehran 15 347,358 393,538 542,877
Qazvin 1 63,272 258,616
Mashhad 2 41,179 213,750 314,941
Esfahan 1 48,613 98,117 333,120
Tabriz 2 21,450 23,392 100,299
Ahvaz 1 111,538 142,832 275,907
Sari 1 149,512 173,126 265,106
Shiraz 2 Un­known 235,745 230,507
Rasht 1 Un­known 21,243 168,097
Rezaieh 1 42,712 86,999 101,998
Kerman 1 26,852 68,525 240,384
Kermanshah 1 Un­known 197,214 143,219
Hamedan 1 153,481 155,523 221,754
Total Votes 30 +1,000,000 1,810,004 3,196,825
Source: Ministry of Interior[10]

Seats won

Year Majority party Loyal opposition Ref
Party Seats Party Seats
1963 New Iran Party Un­known People's Party Un­known
1967 IPU
1971 IPU
1975 Resurgence Party — IPU

Composition

1967

As of 1967, the composition of the Senate included 48 members of the ruling New Iran Party and 11 members of the loyal opposition People's Party, while one senator was unaffiliated.[11]

↓
11 1 48
People's Party Independent New Iran Party

1971

As of 1971, neither the New Iran Party nor the People's Party held a majority in the Senate, and had 27 and 9 members respectively. The remaining 24 senators were nonpartisan.[12]

↓
9 24 27
People's Party Independent New Iran Party

1975

In 1975, all senator were members of the country's single-party.

↓
60
Resurgence Party

Major events

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial Family at Persian (Iranian) Senate, Tehran, 1975
  • 1950 (February 9), first inaugural session presided over by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
  • 1952, Mohammad Mosaddegh managed to obtain power to rule by decree — first, for a six-month period and then extended — due to his popularity. Later, he organized a plebiscite in 1953, won the votes, and dissolved both the Majlis and Senate.[13] Upon Mossadeq's ouster, the legislative bodies were revived.
  • 1961, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi dissolved both the Majlis and Senate;[14] some time later they were restored.
  • 1979 Senate approves the government of Shapour Bakhtiar.[15]

Bibliography

  • M. Ghiai, Iran Senate House, Max Gerard Edt.Draeger Paris, 1976 ISBN 2-85119-008-3

References and notes

  1. ↑ Haddad Adel, Gholamali; Elmi, Mohammad Jafar; Taromi-Rad, Hassan (31 August 2012). "The Reign of Pahlavi II". The Pahlavi Dynasty: An Entry from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. p. 96. ISBN 9781908433022.
  2. ↑ Donald Newton Wilber (2014). Iran, Past and Present: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic. Princeton University Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-1400857470.
  3. ↑ Max Gérard, Iran Senate House Heydar Ghiaï, Editions Draeger, 1976
  4. ↑ Central Bank of Iran. Banknotes & Coins: 100 Rials. – Retrieved on 24 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Muslims (Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices), page 213, ISBN 978-0-415-34882-9
  6. ↑ Iranian.com | Archive Pages
  7. ↑ [http://ibexpub.com/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&cPath=5&products_id=89 Memoirs of Sharif-Emami, Prime Minister Persian Language ISBN 0-932885-22-5
  8. ↑ IRANIAN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT HARVARD UNIVERSITY
  9. ↑ "Iran", The Middle East 1963, London: Europa Publications Ltd, 1963, p. 116
  10. ↑ Statistical Yearbook of Iran 1352 (March 1973–March 1974) (PDF), Statistical Center of Iran, June 1976, Chapter IXL: Politics, Table 9: Number of the Elected Senators by Number of Votes Cast and Ostan Centre for 4th, 5th and 6th Senate, p. 509 – via The Iran Social Science Data Portal
  11. ↑ Bahrampour, Firouz (1970), Iran: Emergence of a Middle Eastern Power, Brooklyn, New York: Theo. Gaus' Sons, pp. 37–38
  12. ↑ "Iran", Middle East and North Africa 1974–75, London: Europa Publications Ltd, 1974, p. 342, ISBN 978-0900362736
  13. ↑ Historical Setting: MOSSADEQ AND OIL NATIONALIZATION
  14. ↑ Confidential, U.S. State Department, Central Files IRAN, 1960-January 1963, Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs
  15. ↑ "Iranian senate's approval of Shahpour Bakhtiar's government noted" ABC Evening News for Monday, Jan 15, 1979

35°41′16.82″N 51°23′58.72″E / 35.6880056°N 51.3996444°E / 35.6880056; 51.3996444

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