Hossein Ghods-Nakhai


Hossein Ghods-Nakhaï was an Iranian poet, politician, cabinet minister, and diplomat.

Family background

He was the son of the Iranian clerk, Hajj Agha Hasan Nakhai. Like his father, Hossein's surname was initially Nakhai. In his youth, he was the editor of a literature magazine, called Ghods, and so became known as "Mr. Ghods" to everyone. He then added the word Ghods to his surname. He was married to the daughter of the first Iranian ambassador to US, Sadr es-Saltaneh, also known as Haji Washington.

Diplomatic and political career

He held the position of the minister of foreign affairs between 1961 and 1963. Before that he was ambassador to Baghdad, London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.. He can be seen behind president Kennedy in this. Afterwards, he was appointed as the minister of the royal court, a post he held until 1968. He was replaced as the minister of court by Amir Assadollah Alam. Afterwards, he became the ambassador to the Holy See.
He was the chairman of the committee that negotiated with the USSR on return to Iranian gold deposited with the government of the Tsar.

Literary life

He wrote extensive volumes of poetry, and prose. Some of his works have been translated into English and other languages.