Mohammed Mossadegh
Mohammed Mossadegh (1882-1967) was a member of the Majlis (the Iranian legislature) from its beginning into the 1950s. Mossadegh became Prime Minister of Iran and nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He had also good relationships to the Communist Tudeh Party. Many believe that Mossadegh was democratically elected, but in fact during this time Iran was not a democracy, but a monarchy. The Shah had the right to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.[1] Mossadegh even behaved like a dictator himself. He imprisoned thousands of his opponents. Some of Mossadegh´s former allies wrote to the United Nations to end his dictatorship.[2]
In 1953 Mossadegh was overthrown by CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's grandson. This event was called a "coup", but actually the CIA only reinstated Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, more commonly known as the Shah of Iran, who was the constitutional rightful leader.