Bāzargān, Mahdī (1907-1995)

Mehdi Bazargan (September 1, 1907 - January 20, 1995) was a prominent Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government, making him Iran's first prime minister after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He was the head of the first engineering department of Tehran University. A well respected religious intellectual, known for his honesty and expertise in the Islamic and secular sciences, he is credited with being one of the founders of the contemporary Islamic intellectual movement in Iran. After becoming Iran's first prime-minister after the revolution, he eventually resigned due to the massive amount of political executions and increasing lack of freedom.