William Morgan Shuster

William Morgan Shuster ( born February 23, 1877 in Washington, DC, † May 26, 1960 in New York City ), attorney, financial officer, writers and publishers from the United States of America, which became known as Chancellor of the Exchequer of Persia. From May to December 1911 he was appointed by decision of the Persian Parliament ( Majlis ), Chancellor of the Exchequer ( Treasurer General ) of the Iranian government.

Life

Shuster arrived in Washington DC, the son of William Shuster and the German -born Caroline of days to the world. He studied at the George Washington University. After graduating, he went into the civil service and worked from 1899 after the Spanish-American War as a financial officer for the U.S. government in Cuba and later in the Philippines, at that time an American colony. Shuster was married to Pearl Trigg, daughter of a Scottish banker, and had two daughters.

In Persia

In 1906 the leaders of the Constitutional Revolution in Persia began to build a democratic civil society along Western lines. This constitutional movement forced by Muzaffar al-Din Shah, the choice of the first parliament ( Majlis ), the approval of a nearly free press and other reforms.

Following a recommendation by the U.S. government to the Iranian ambassador in Washington Shuster was appointed in the spring of 1911 by the Majlis, to help the country out of its difficult situation. Persia's finances were at this time on shaky ground since the Qajar, the royal family of Persia, with the colonial powers, Britain and Russia had made significant debt at the expense of the country. Making matters worse was that Britain and Russia had in 1907 divided by the Treaty of Saint Petersburg Persia into spheres of influence. The north was controlled by Tsarist Russia and the South of the UK.

The appointing Shuster and his staff as financial advisor to the Persian government worried the former great powers Russia and Britain, which slow the development of an independent national sentiment in Persia and wanted to prevent influences of other independent states.

Morgan Shuster arrived in Tehran on 12 May 1911. Persia was insolvent at that time. According to the Treasury 's account of the Persian government was covered at the Imperial Bank of Persia with the equivalent of $ 400,000. Shuster began to actively support through the establishment of a functioning financial management, the Constitutional revolution of Persia. To give the tax assessments reprint, Shuster insisted on the development of its own gendarmerie of the Treasury ( Jandarmeri -e Khazaneh ). Under the supervision of Colonel Merrill a powerful team was set up with capable Iranian officers and one thousand men quickly, which followed the instructions strictly Shuster. As Shuster, however, the British officer CB Wanted to hire Stokes as commander of the financial police, there was a political scandal. Russia and Britain had Iran in 1907 divided into zones of influence in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg. The northern Iran had been awarded to the Russians and the South to the British. The Russian government insisted that no British officer had authority in the north of Iran. The planned closure of Major Stokes led to a political crisis between Iran and Russia. Russia demanded the dismissal of Morgan Shuster.

Shuster also extends to Kadscharenprinzen not stop, who had for years paid no taxes and sparked with his uncompromising approach an internal and external political crisis, the result in December 1911 to his resignation and the dissolution of the gendarmerie of the Treasury. The Swedish officer Hjalmarson, who should build a new, independent from the Shah police on behalf of Parliament, took the officers and men of the Treasury as the core troops of the Persian gendarmerie.

After a failed coup of living in exile in Russia Mohammed Ali Shah, the Iranian government asked the brother of the Shah Shu'a al - Saltaneh ( شعاع السلطنه ), one of the richest men in the country and ardent supporter of the policy objectives of Russia in Persia, to, cede as compensation for the damage caused by the coup to the government his fortune. Shuster was commissioned to carry out the seizure. Under Russian and British pressure of the vice-regent of Persia dismissed against the will of Parliament Shuster in December 1911 from his offices. Parliament confirmed Shuster in his office and picked up the release. Immediately, the Russian government demanded the expulsion Shuster. When Parliament refused this request, Russia occupied the north of Iran. It sent troops to Bandar Anzali immediately to prevent the seizure of the brother of the Shah 's assets. The troops should also give the Russian demand for compensation and apology by the Persian government emphasis.

The Parliament building in Tehran had been fired on by troops of the Russian General Liakhoff, and Morgan Shuster was forced to give in to pressure from Russia and Britain and resign. The parliament was dissolved and for years to come no more budget was adopted.

Shuster 's book The Strangling of Persia - Persia stranglehold describes in detail the events and criticizes Britain and Russia.

The Strangling of Persia - Persia stranglehold

After his return to the United States Shuster president of the publishing house Century Publishing Company, which later became Appleton - Century- Crofts, Inc. He has published under the title The Strangling of Persia - Persia stranglehold on an indictment against the interference of Russia and Britain in Persia. In a paragraph of his book become known Shuster writes

"It was obvious that the Persian population deserves better than it gets currently. She wanted our success. But Britain and Russia were determined to prevent our success. "

The Strangling of Persia was published in 1912 in New York by the Century Company. Greenwood Press put the book in 1968 on new and Mage Publishers printed it in 1987 and again in 2005 after. The first edition of the book is subtitled as lead European diplomacy and oriental intrigue to the denationalization of twelve million Mohammedans, a personal report.

Shuster book is an eyewitness account of the development of a still weak, developing nation a prey to the haughty, imperial expansion urge Britain and Russia. A central theme is the persistence with which Shuster takes on the task of building a functioning financial management, a prerequisite for an emerging, national -minded government that wants to resist imperialism. For this reason, were Shuster and -down with him taxman the immediate objective of the Russian invasion of 1911 until 1912. The stated intention of Russian foreign policy is to remove Shuster from the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer was.

The book is also so remarkable because Shuster was firmly convinced that he is taking part in the building of a " Muslim " democracy. The Constitution of 1906 remained virtually unchanged until 1979 in the rest of the Constitution of Iran.