Nasrollah Moghtader Mojdehi

Nasrollah Moghtader Mojdehi (; born April 3, 1921, in Rasht, Iran, died May 22, 2012, in London, England) was an influential Iranian academic, professor of internal medicine, and public servant, having served as a Senator in the pre-revolutionary Iranian Senate, and Minister of Health in the Amouzegar Cabinet and for a short period in the Sharif-Emami Cabinet.

Known by his peers and students as “Dr. Mojdehi”, his excellence, independence, and reform orientation and principled leadership, propelled him through the hierarchy of universities in Iran and ultimately resulted in his appointment as Iranian Minister of Health in 1978. with a specialty in Infectious Disease. A protégé of the late Dr. Manouchehr Eghbal, Dr. Mojdehi quickly rose through the ranks at the University, becoming a full Professor

Mojdehi reluctantly left his position at Tehran University of Medical Sciences to assume leadership of Ferdowsi University at Mashhad. He promptly lifted the spirit of the Ferdowsi University community by again instituting reforms to ensure that faculty members were recognized based on merit rather than political connections and taking other affirmative steps to improve the faculty's morale. Mojdehi's declined to accept a gift by the Governor of Khorassan Province of a deed of valuable property, insisting that the property instead be given to the University, to be used in perpetuity as a residence by future Chancellors of the University during their time of service. Soon thereafter, he clashed with Monuchehr Azmoun, the deputy Prime Minister who sought to block Mojdehi's decision to appoint a Jewish physician as a deputy at the Ministry of Health. Unwilling to bend to the influence of Azmoun, Mojdehi unilaterally resigned as Minister of Health, without seeking the permission of the Shah. Unilateral resignations by cabinet ministers were unprecedented, and Mojdehi's public resignation based upon a matter of principle forever etched his reputation as a man of integrity and courage.

Following the revolution, due to his prior public service in the pre-revolutionary government, Mojdehi was imprisoned at Ghasre prison from May until August 1979. Mojdehi's well-known reputation for excellence in internal medicine and singular ability to diagnose difficult cases served as a means of his release. Over 120 physicians signed a petition addressed to the then leaders of the country asking for his release, given his service to the country. In addition, as fate would have it, a senior and highly influential cleric fell ill and the cause of his illness could not be determined. In search for a cure, the senior cleric identified Mojdehi as the best physician to diagnose the cleric's illness. Later, the grateful cleric was instrumental in securing the release of Mojdehi after six months of imprisonment.

Publications Mojdehi NM. Infectious Diseases. Tehran, Iran 1951. Mojdehi NM. Infectious Diseases Vol. 1-2. Tehran, Iran 1968. Mojdehi N, Moin, M. Tropical Eosinophylia. Acta Medica Iranica. 1957; 1(4): 259-265. Azizi SP, Mojdehi N. Contribution A L’etude D’endocardite Brucellaire en Iran. Acta Medica Iranica. 1959; 3(1): 1-5. Mojdehi N, Moine M, Study of 72 Cases of Human Brucellosis in Tehran. Acta Medica Iranica. 1962; 5(1-4): 34-41. Mojdehi N, Moine M. Treatment of Hepatic Coma by Exchange Transfusion: A Report of Three Cases. 1967; X(3-4): 71-78. Barzgar MA, Mojdehi NM, Amini F. A Clinical Study of the Use of Pyrvinium Pamoate with Piperazine (Vanpar ®) in the Treatment of Oxyuriasis and Ascariasis. 1974; 3(1): 62-66.