Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni

Who was Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni?

Mohammad-Vali Khan, Khalatbari Tonekāboni, known as Sepahdar A'zam was the leader of the constitutionalist revolutionary forces from Iran's northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran and known as one of the greatest statesman and military commanders of Persian history as well as its wealthiest nobleman.

He served as colonel for ten years and became Minister of Post and Telegraph as well as Minister of Customs where he was in charge of all imports into and exports out of the Persian empire. Later he became Minister of Treasury where he was singlehandedly in charge of the entire country's coin issue. He also held the title of Minister of Defence and was Prime Minister for four terms. His highest military title was Commander in Chief. He was of the royal Khalatbari family.

As an ethnic Persian, Sepahsalar Khalatbari was the only leader who was able to restore security inside Persia by controlling the ethnic Turkomans inside the kingdom. He was called upon many times by not only the various sectors of the Persian government but also by the Russians to suppress the Turkomans. His enormous wealth with income estimated at US$2 million/year in the early 1900s allowed him to be the chief financier of the Persian Empire where he would use his property as collateral for loans the kingdom obtained from Russia and Britain.