Mohammad Mossadegh (1882-1967), Iranian nationalist politician and prime minister (1951-1953), led the movement for the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. His democratically elected government was overthrown as the result of a coup d'état sponsored by Great Britain and the United States.

Mohammad Mossadegh (Musaddiq) was born in Tehran into a prominent family of notables. His father was a senior official of the state treasury and his mother was related to the ruling Qajar dynasty. Mossadegh was in his teens when he assumed the administrative position of his deceased father, as was the custom at the time. In 1901 he married Zia us-Saltaneh, who came from a family of politico-religious dignitaries. They had five children. An active supporter of the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1907, Mossadegh was elected a deputy to the first Parliament (Majles), but was below the required minimum age for qualification and therefore could not...