Reza Azimi
{{Short description|Military officer and commander of the Imperial Iranian Army Ground Forces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox office holder
| honorific_prefix = Timsar
| native_name = {{nobold|رضا عظیمی}}
| native_name_lang= fa
| image =
| birth_date = 1909
| death_date = 1999
| birth_place =
| death_place = France
| cabinet = Military government of Gholam-Reza Azhari
| office = Minister of War
| termstart = 1970
| termend =1977
| predecessor = Asadollah Sanii
| successor = Jafar Shafaghat
| allegiance = Imperial State of Iran
| branch = Ground Force
| serviceyears = 1928 – 1979
| rank = Army General
}}
Reza Azimi ({{Langx|fa|رضا عظیمی}}) was a senior military officer during the reign of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was a general and held various military and government posts, including commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces and minister of war.
Biography
Azimi served as the commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces between 1960 and 1966.{{cite web|title=General Reza Azimi|url=https://fis-iran.org/en/content/azimi-general-reza|publisher=Foundation for Iranian Studies|access-date=8 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315003016/https://fis-iran.org/en/content/azimi-general-reza|archive-date=15 March 2021}} He left the office due to illness.{{cite thesis|oclc=12037858|author=Hooshmand Mirfakhraei|title=The Imperial Iranian armed forces and the revolution of 1978-1979|page=254|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303350420|location=University at Buffalo
|degree=PhD|year=1984|id={{ProQuest|303350420}}}} Then he was made general adjutant to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi which he held until 1970.
Later Azimi served as the minister of war between 1971 and 1977 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda.{{cite journal|author=Khosrow Fatemi|title=Leadership by Distrust: The Shah's Modus Operandi|issue=1
|journal=The Middle East Journal|date=Winter 1982|volume=36|page=56|jstor=4326355}} He was appointed to the post on 13 September 1971.{{cite journal|title=Chronology August 16, 1971-November 15, 1971|journal=The Middle East Journal|year=1972|volume=26|issue=1|page=43
|jstor=4324874}} Azimi was among the nine members of the cabinet who were not Hoveyda's appointees or proteges. His deputy at the ministry was also a retired army officer, Hassan Toufanian.{{cite book|title=Iran, a Country Study|page=401
|location=Washington DC|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lvvrt670CB8C&pg=PA401|year=1978|publisher=Department of Defense}} During his tenure Azimi dealt with legislative and budgetary issues, whereas his deputy, Toufanian, was responsible for the procurement of arms in accordance with the Shah's orders.
Azimi retained his post in the succeeding cabinet led by Prime Minister Jamshid Amouzegar between August 1977 and August 1978.{{cite journal|title=Chronology May 16, 1977-August 15, 1977|journal=The Middle East Journal|volume=31|issue=4
|year=1977|jstor=4325678|page=474}} Azimi continued to serve in the same post in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/08/28/new-cabinet-named-in-iran-shakeup/cade8a51-4836-4b3b-b1bf-4a1a3dced55e/|access-date=8 August 2021|title=New Cabinet Named in Iran Shakeup|author=William Branigin|date=28 August 1978}}{{cite journal|title=Chronology August 6, 1978-November 15, 1978|journal=The Middle East Journal|date=Winter 1979|jstor=4325819|volume=33|issue=1
|page=49}} He was also appointed Minister of War in the military government which was formed by Gholam Reza Azhari in November 1978 and lasted until the end of December.{{cite book|author=Sepehr Zabir|title=The Iranian Military in Revolution and War (RLE Iran D)|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1-136-81270-5|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcjmD51dFFMC&pg=PA27|location=London; New York}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Abdol Hossein Hejazi}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Force|years=1960–1966}}
{{s-aft|after=Azizollah Zarghami}}
{{s-end}}
{{Commanders of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azimi, Reza}}
Category:20th-century Iranian politicians
Category:Defence ministers of Iran
Category:Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France
Category:Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals