| Senate | |
| Native Name: | Persian: مجلس سنا|Majles-e Senā |
| House Type: | Upper house |
| Jurisdiction: | Iran |
| Foundation: | [1] |
| Seats: | 60 |
| First Election1: | 1949 |
| Last Election1: | 1975 |
| Session Room: | Palais du Senat iranien (1970).jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Tehran, Iran |
| Constitution: | Persian Constitution of 1906 |
The Senate (Persian: مجلس سنا|Majles-e Senā) was the upper house legislative chamber in the Imperial State of Iran from 1949 to 1979. A bicameral legislature had been established in the 1906 Persian Constitutional Revolution but the Senate was not actually formed until after the 1949 Constituent Assembly election, as an expression of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's desire for better distribution of power (similar to many democratic countries). Half of the sixty seats in the senate were directly appointed by the Shah, and the other half were directly elected, fifteen represented Tehran, and the rest were elected from other regions.[2]
The Senate was disbanded after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when the new constitution established a unicameral legislature., the former Senate building was used by the Assembly of Experts.
Established as per Chapter 3, Article 45 of the Persian Constitution of 1906,
The Senate House of Iran was designed by architect Heydar Ghiaï in 1955.[3] The construction was led by Rahmat Safai, the dome being one of the most technically challenging projects in the entire endeavor.
The building is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 100 rials banknote.[4]
| Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|
| Ebrahim Hakimi | 19 August 1951 | 1 March 1957 |
| Hassan Taqizadeh | 1 March 1957 | 1 September 1960 |
| Mohsen Sadr | 11 September 1960 | 11 September 1964 |
| Jafar Sharif-Emami | 11 September 1964 | 24 March 1978 |
| Mohammad Sajadi | 24 March 1978 | 10 February 1979 |
During its years of activity, the Senate was once dissolved in May 1961.
Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, the government became unicameral, the senate was dissolved and the new Majlis convened in the senate building.
| Provincial Capital | Seats | Votes Cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1967 | 1971 | ||||||
| Tehran | 15 | 347,358 | 393,538 | 542,877 | ||||
| Qazvin | 1 | 63,272 | 258,616 | |||||
| Mashhad | 2 | 41,179 | 213,750 | 314,941 | ||||
| Esfahan | 1 | 48,613 | 98,117 | 333,120 | ||||
| Tabriz | 2 | 21,450 | 23,392 | 100,299 | ||||
| Ahvaz | 1 | 111,538 | 142,832 | 275,907 | ||||
| Sari | 1 | 149,512 | 173,126 | 265,106 | ||||
| Shiraz | 2 | 235,745 | 230,507 | |||||
| Rasht | 1 | 21,243 | 168,097 | |||||
| Rezaieh | 1 | 42,712 | 86,999 | 101,998 | ||||
| Kerman | 1 | 26,852 | 68,525 | 240,384 | ||||
| Kermanshah | 1 | 197,214 | 143,219 | |||||
| Hamedan | 1 | 153,481 | 155,523 | 221,754 | ||||
| Total Votes | 30 | +1,000,000 | 1,810,004 | 3,196,825 | ||||
| Source: Ministry of Interior | ||||||||
| Year | Majority party | Loyal opposition | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| 1963 | New Iran Party | People's Party | |||
| 1967 | IPU | ||||
| 1971 | IPU | ||||
| 1975 | Resurgence Party | IPU | |||
As of 1967, the composition of the Senate included 48 members of the ruling New Iran Party and 11 members of the loyal opposition People's Party, while one senator was unaffiliated.
| 11 | 1 | 48 | |
| People's Party | Independent | New Iran Party |
As of 1971, neither the New Iran Party nor the People's Party held a majority in the Senate, and had 27 and 9 members respectively. The remaining 24 senators were nonpartisan.
| 9 | 24 | 27 | |
| People's Party | Independent | New Iran Party |
In 1975, all senator were members of the country's single-party.
| 60 | |
| Resurgence Party |