Hasan Arfa was born in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire) to an Anglo-Russian mother and Iranian father.[3] His mother, Ludmilla Jervis, was the daughter of a British diplomat and a Russian woman of the aristocratic Demidov family. His father, Reza Khan Arfa al-Dowleh, was a veteran Iranian diplomat serving as consul-general in Tbilisi; he later served as ambassador to Turkey and Russia. Arfa's parents divorced in 1900, after Arfa and his mother had moved to Paris, but his father, the senior Arfa al-Dowleh, provided comfortable homes in Europe for them.
Arfa received his early education from tutors and later attended private schools in Switzerland, Paris, and Monaco. In 1914, he joined the Iranian Imperial Guards, and during the early part of World War I that organization sponsored his training as a cavalry officer with the Swiss army. He joined the Iranian gendarmerie in 1920, and later, the army. As a cavalry officer, he campaigned against rebellious tribes in Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Lorestan, and during the 1920s and rose rapidly through the ranks.
Arfa first met Reza Shah Pahlavi (ruled 1926 - 1941), who was then Minister of War, at the outset of the campaign against the Kurds in 1921. Reza Shah's forceful character left a deep impression on him, and Arfa remained a loyal supporter of the Pahlavis throughout his life. In 1923, Arfa married Hilda Bewicke, a British ballerina in Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev's Russian Ballet whom he met in Monaco; they had one daughter, Leila. He subsequently served a brief tour in 1926 as military attaché in London and attended the Staff College in Paris from 1927 to 1929. After his training in France, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and placed in command of the newly formed Pahlavi Guards Cavalry Regiment, which he turned into a highly disciplined and professional unit. Reza Shah made him commandant of the Military Academy and in 1932 promoted him to the rank of colonel. In 1934, Arfa accompanied Reza Shah on his official visit to Turkey. He was appointed inspector general of the cavalry and armed forces in 1936 and promoted to general in 1939. During the joint Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran in August 1941, the shah appointed Arfa chief of staff in charge of the defenses for Tehran. After the British and Soviets defeated the Iranian army and forced Reza Shah to abdicate, his son and successor, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1941 - 1979), appointed Arfa chief of military intelligence.
Arfa became involved in national politics during the 1940s and 1950s. As Chief of the General Staff from 1944 to 1946, he authorized the supply of weapons to the Shahsavan tribesmen who opposed the autonomous government of Azerbaijan. In early 1946, Arfa was instrumental in gathering signatures of parliamentary deputies for a petition supporting Iran's complaint before the United Nations Security Council that Soviet forces continued to occupy northern Iran in contravention of an agreement to withdraw. Arfa's actions placed him in the camp of political leaders who tended to perceive malevolent intentions in Soviet policies but benign intentions in British policies. The pro-Soviet/anti-British politicians denounced Arfa in parliament and the press, and consequently Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam insisted that Arfa be dismissed from his post as chief of the general staff. In 1946, Arfa was imprisoned for seven months. He was eventually exonerated, but he was retired summarily from active duty in March 1947.
Arfa blamed his successor, Gen. Ali Razmara, for his forced retirement and subsequently co-operated with his political rivals, especially after Razmara was appointed prime minister in 1950. Nevertheless, Arfa genuinely was disturbed when Razmara was assassinated in 1951, because he believed the increasing level of political violence threatened the country. He served as minister of roads and communications in the brief government of Prime Minister Hosayn Ala during the month following Razmara's assassination, before the parliament voted in Mohammad Mossadegh as premier. Arfa distrusted Mossadegh and formed a political group, the National Movement, to disrupt gatherings of Mossadegh supporters, whom he considered to be extremists opposed to the continuation of the monarchy and a strong army. The National Movement's newspaper published many articles written by Arfa, supporting the shah and respect for Islam. Arfa maintained contact with a variety of political activists, including Mozaffar Baqai of the Toilers' party, the fiery preacher Ayatollah Sayyed Abu al-Qasem Kashani, and Shaban Jafari, an organizer of street mobs. Arfa became a founding member of the secret committee of military officers, the Committee to Save the Fatherland, formed in 1952 with the objective of overthrowing Mossadegh. Following the 1953 military coup that restored the shah to power, he served as Iran's ambassador to Turkey (1958 - 1961) and Pakistan (1961 - 1962). Subsequently he retired from active government service. He left Iran at the time of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and died in Monte Carlo, Monaco in 1983.[3]
References
^Rahnema, Ali (24 November 2014). Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran: Thugs, Turncoats, Soldiers, and Spooks. Cambridge University Press. pp. 54, 299. ISBN978-1107076068.
^Abrahamian, Ervand (2013), The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the roots of modern U.S.–Iranian relations, New York: New Press, The, pp. 151–152, ISBN978-1-59558-826-5
^ abAzimi, F. "ARFAʿ, ḤASAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
Sources
Azimi, F. "ARFAʿ, ḤASAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
Further reading
Arfa, Hasan. Under Five Shahs. New York: Morrow; London: John Murray, 1964.
Arfa, Hasan. The Kurds: An Historical and Political Study. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
March 09, 2023
hasan, arfa, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 202. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hasan Arfa news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hasan Arfa 1895 in Tbilisi 1983 in Monte Carlo was an Iranian general and ambassador to the Pahlavi dynasty Hasan ArfaArfa as pictured in 1944Personal detailsBorn1895Tbilisi Russian Empire now Georgia Died1983Monte Carlo MonacoPolitical partyAria Party 1 OccupationGeneral AmbassadorHe was a leading figure in the British military network in Iran 2 Contents 1 Early life 2 The Pahlavis 3 References 4 Sources 5 Further readingEarly life EditHasan Arfa was born in Tbilisi Georgia then part of the Russian Empire to an Anglo Russian mother and Iranian father 3 His mother Ludmilla Jervis was the daughter of a British diplomat and a Russian woman of the aristocratic Demidov family His father Reza Khan Arfa al Dowleh was a veteran Iranian diplomat serving as consul general in Tbilisi he later served as ambassador to Turkey and Russia Arfa s parents divorced in 1900 after Arfa and his mother had moved to Paris but his father the senior Arfa al Dowleh provided comfortable homes in Europe for them Arfa received his early education from tutors and later attended private schools in Switzerland Paris and Monaco In 1914 he joined the Iranian Imperial Guards and during the early part of World War I that organization sponsored his training as a cavalry officer with the Swiss army He joined the Iranian gendarmerie in 1920 and later the army As a cavalry officer he campaigned against rebellious tribes in Azerbaijan Kurdistan Lorestan and during the 1920s and rose rapidly through the ranks The Pahlavis EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Arfa first met Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled 1926 1941 who was then Minister of War at the outset of the campaign against the Kurds in 1921 Reza Shah s forceful character left a deep impression on him and Arfa remained a loyal supporter of the Pahlavis throughout his life In 1923 Arfa married Hilda Bewicke a British ballerina in Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev s Russian Ballet whom he met in Monaco they had one daughter Leila He subsequently served a brief tour in 1926 as military attache in London and attended the Staff College in Paris from 1927 to 1929 After his training in France he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the newly formed Pahlavi Guards Cavalry Regiment which he turned into a highly disciplined and professional unit Reza Shah made him commandant of the Military Academy and in 1932 promoted him to the rank of colonel In 1934 Arfa accompanied Reza Shah on his official visit to Turkey He was appointed inspector general of the cavalry and armed forces in 1936 and promoted to general in 1939 During the joint Anglo Soviet Invasion of Iran in August 1941 the shah appointed Arfa chief of staff in charge of the defenses for Tehran After the British and Soviets defeated the Iranian army and forced Reza Shah to abdicate his son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi r 1941 1979 appointed Arfa chief of military intelligence Arfa became involved in national politics during the 1940s and 1950s As Chief of the General Staff from 1944 to 1946 he authorized the supply of weapons to the Shahsavan tribesmen who opposed the autonomous government of Azerbaijan In early 1946 Arfa was instrumental in gathering signatures of parliamentary deputies for a petition supporting Iran s complaint before the United Nations Security Council that Soviet forces continued to occupy northern Iran in contravention of an agreement to withdraw Arfa s actions placed him in the camp of political leaders who tended to perceive malevolent intentions in Soviet policies but benign intentions in British policies The pro Soviet anti British politicians denounced Arfa in parliament and the press and consequently Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam insisted that Arfa be dismissed from his post as chief of the general staff In 1946 Arfa was imprisoned for seven months He was eventually exonerated but he was retired summarily from active duty in March 1947 Arfa blamed his successor Gen Ali Razmara for his forced retirement and subsequently co operated with his political rivals especially after Razmara was appointed prime minister in 1950 Nevertheless Arfa genuinely was disturbed when Razmara was assassinated in 1951 because he believed the increasing level of political violence threatened the country He served as minister of roads and communications in the brief government of Prime Minister Hosayn Ala during the month following Razmara s assassination before the parliament voted in Mohammad Mossadegh as premier Arfa distrusted Mossadegh and formed a political group the National Movement to disrupt gatherings of Mossadegh supporters whom he considered to be extremists opposed to the continuation of the monarchy and a strong army The National Movement s newspaper published many articles written by Arfa supporting the shah and respect for Islam Arfa maintained contact with a variety of political activists including Mozaffar Baqai of the Toilers party the fiery preacher Ayatollah Sayyed Abu al Qasem Kashani and Shaban Jafari an organizer of street mobs Arfa became a founding member of the secret committee of military officers the Committee to Save the Fatherland formed in 1952 with the objective of overthrowing Mossadegh Following the 1953 military coup that restored the shah to power he served as Iran s ambassador to Turkey 1958 1961 and Pakistan 1961 1962 Subsequently he retired from active government service He left Iran at the time of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and died in Monte Carlo Monaco in 1983 3 References Edit Rahnema Ali 24 November 2014 Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran Thugs Turncoats Soldiers and Spooks Cambridge University Press pp 54 299 ISBN 978 1107076068 Abrahamian Ervand 2013 The Coup 1953 the CIA and the roots of modern U S Iranian relations New York New Press The pp 151 152 ISBN 978 1 59558 826 5 a b Azimi F ARFAʿ ḤASAN Encyclopaedia Iranica Retrieved 20 March 2016 Sources EditAzimi F ARFAʿ ḤASAN Encyclopaedia Iranica Retrieved 20 March 2016 Further reading EditArfa Hasan Under Five Shahs New York Morrow London John Murray 1964 Arfa Hasan The Kurds An Historical and Political Study London Oxford University Press 1966 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hasan Arfa amp oldid 1132329648, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
