Mosaddeq (19 May 1882 - 5 March 1967) was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953 when he was removed from power by a coup d'état (CIA-MI6). From an aristocratic background, Mosaddeq was an author, administrator, lawyer, prominent parliamentarian, and politician, famous for his passionate opposition to foreign intervention in Iran. He is most famous as the architect of the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been under British control through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), (later British Petroleum or BP), and which is thought by many to be the reason for his deposition. (more...)

Mosaddeq was removed from power in a 19 August 1953 coup covertly supported and funded by the British and U.S. governments and led by General Fazlollah Zahedi. The American operation came to be known as Operation Ajax in America, after its CIA cryptonym, and as the 28 Mordad 1332 coup in Iran, after its date on the Iranian calendar. Mosaddeq was imprisoned for three years and subsequently put under house arrest until his death.

Among many in Iran and abroad, Mosaddeq is viewed as a hero of Third World anti-imperialism, and a victim of imperialist greed for Iran's oil. However a number of scholars and historians believe that besides the direct involvement of the UK and US, a major factor in Mossadeq's overthrow was the reactionary clerical dissatisfaction with a secular government, fomented with CIA propaganda. (less)