Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian political scientist and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1882)
Mohammad Mosaddegh (Persian: محمد مصدق, IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeq] (listen); 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran, holding office from 1951 until 1953, when his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état orchestrated by the United Kingdom's MI6 and the American CIA, led by Kermit Roosevelt Jr.An author, administrator, lawyer and parliamentarian, his administration introduced a range of social and political measures such as social security, land reforms and higher taxes including the introduction of taxation on the rent of land. His government's most significant policy, however, was the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been built by the British on Persian lands since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/AIOC), later known as British Petroleum (BP).Many Iranians regard Mosaddegh as the leading champion of secular democracy and resistance to foreign domination in Iran's modern history. Following an initial failed coup by the CIA/MI6-backed General Fazlollah Zahedi, the CIA field agent in charge, Kermit Roosevelt, nonetheless defied orders and attempted a second overthrow. By paying mobs to demonstrate, tricking Mossadegh into urging his supporters to stay home, and bribing and mobilizing officers against Mossadegh, he was able to force a military confrontation outside Mossadegh's home. With loyalist troops overwhelmed, Mossadegh was pulled out by aides (though he stated his wish of dying in the house instead of fleeing) into hiding. He surrendered himself to the Officers' Club when Zahedi announced an order for his arrest on the radio.

Mosaddegh was imprisoned for three years, then put under house arrest until his death and was buried in his own home so as to prevent a political furor. In 2013, the U.S. government formally acknowledged the U.S. role in the coup, as a part of its foreign policy initiatives.