Foreign Ministers in Naser al-Din Shah's Administration

During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, foreign relations of Iran were remarkably developed and as a result the issues of foreign affairs were no longer within the jurisdiction of the court and the Chancellor and were assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which had been established for 28 years. Such development coincided with the beginning of Naser al-Din Shah’s reign and Chancellorship of Amir Kabir, an authoritative chancellor who had not only been tasked with foreign affairs but also had years of remarkable experience in diplomatic missions to other countries and was well-informed about the importance of foreign affairs structures. Although his short term of chancellorship did not allow him to realize his lofty ideas and aspirations, he left a valuable legacy for the foreign affairs of Iran through laying the foundation and training professionals. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the present article, while introducing foreign ministers in Naser al-din Shan’s administration, gives accounts on performance and circumstances of their terms of office. The study found out that the then Ministry of Foreign Affairs, similar to other Qajar’s administrative structures, was stuck in Russia-Britain bipolarity and the fierce controversy between Mirza Saeed khan and Mirza Hossein Khan over the position of minister led to no result but decay and inefficiency of Iran’s foreign policy.