Upholding “Parliamentary Supremacy”

Abstract This study analyzes the fiscal reform bills introduced by Iranian Minister of Finance, Mohammad Mosaddeq, under the first Ahmad Qavām cabinet (1921–1922) during the late Qajar era, focusing on legal arguments in the National Assembly and their political background. An analysis of parliamentary and other contemporary sources reveals the contradiction between Mosaddeq and parliamentary deputies; the former pushed for expeditious and drastic reforms by delegating some parts of their legislative processes to the government, while the latter prioritized consensus-building in the National Assembly through careful deliberation. These contradictions gradually created an irreparable rift between them, although both roughly shared the necessity and direction of the fiscal reforms. This accelerated the collapse of the Qavām cabinet and the emergence of Rezā Khān’s dictatorial reign (Prime Minister 1923–1925; later Rezā Shāh Pahlavi 1925–1941) amid parliamentary turmoil.