Hassan Vosugh was born to one of
Iran's most famous families. His father was
Mirza Ebrahim Motamed os-Saltaneh, and his grandfather was
Mohammad Qavam od-Dowleh. Vosugh's mother died when he was young, after which he was cared for by an uncle while his father worked as a financial manager in several of Iran's provinces. He was educated at home by tutors and was fluent in French and English. As an adolescent, he accompanied his father on his travels, and took over the financial administration of
Azerbaijan at a young age. Vosugh was elected as a founding member and deputy president of the inaugural
National Consultative Assembly (Majles) of Iran in 1906. In the years 1911 to 1915, Vosugh was the first
Foreign Minister and later
Minister of Finance. He served as Prime Minister from August 1916 to June 1917 and again from August 1918 to July 1920. Vosugh played a leading role in negotiations that resulted in the 1919
Anglo-Persian Agreement, which led to allegations that he had been bribed by the British. Although Vosugh denied that he had enriched himself personally and also offered to repay the money, his reputation was so damaged that he left Iran. Vosugh returned to the country in June 1926, not long after the accession of
Reza Shah. He served briefly again as
Minister of Finance and then as
Minister of Justice. He resigned as minister to run for a seat in the Majles, to which he was elected. After the expiry of his term in 1928, Vosugh withdrew from politics, though he was still frequently consulted by Reza Shah in financial matters. In 1936, he became a member of the newly founded
Academy of Persian Language and Literature. In 1951, Hassan Vosugh died in
Tehran. == Issue ==