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Mohammad Javad Tondguyan
Mohammad Javad Bagher Tondguyan (Persian: محمدجواد تندگویان; 16 June 1950 – 16 December 1991) was an Iranian engineer and petroleum minister under Prime Minister Mohammad-Ali Rajai from 2 September to 3 November 1980 when he was captured by the Iraqi forces in November 1980 during Iran-Iraq war. Early life and educationTondguyan was born in Tehran on 16 June 1950.[1][2] Tondguyan was involved in opposition movement against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1967 and was detained for eleven months[2] and interrogated by the SAVAK.[1] During this period he met Mohammad Khatami.[1] From 1968 Tondguyan studied oil engineering at the Abadan Technologic Institute, now Petroleum University of Technology, where he was head of the Islamic Association.[3] The association hosted Ali Shariati, one of the philosophical and political leaders of the Islamic revolution, as a speaker during the 1960s and 1970s.[3] Tondguyan was also one of the figures who disseminated the views of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Abadan during this period.[3] Tondguyan graduated from the Abadan Technologic Institute in 1972.[2] He also attended the Iran School of Management and obtained a degree in 1978.[2] CareerFollowing his graduation, Tondguyan began to work in the Tehran refinery.[3] Then he worked for various oil companies in Iran until the 1979 revolution.[1] After the revolution, he was appointed deputy science minister.[1] On 25 September 1980, Tondguyan was named oil minister replacing Ali Akbar Moinfar in the post and served in the cabinet of Mohammad Ali Rajai.[1][2] His successor as the minister of oil was Mohammad Gharazi.[4] Captivity and deathTondguyan was captured by the Iraqi forces on his tour to the fronts on the Abadan road in Khuzestan province on 3 November 1980 at the initial phase of the Iran-Iraq war which lasted from 1980 to 1988.[5][6][7] His deputy and a ministry official were also captured with him.[8] They were reportedly taken to Baghdad.[9] In October 1990, the Iraqi officials stated that he committed suicide two years after his captivity.[6] In November 1990, his wife and father denied this report.[5] Tondguyan's body was delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the Iran government in 1991.[7] The committee reported that he died of torture after eleven years of detention in Iraqi prisons.[7] Personal lifeTondguyan was married and had four children.[5] As of 2018 his son, Mohammad Mehdi, was a member of the Tehran City Council.[2] NotesReferences
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