Dars-i Ibrat / درسِ عبرت

Reza Kaviani (1904-1968), political thinker and civil servant. Kaviani pursued secondary education in Germany from 1922, where he earned a doctorate in 1929 with a dissertation on transportation policy in Persia. Upon his return to Iran, he served in senior administrative posts in the Ministry of Finance and participated in efforts at institutional reform. In 1946, he left government service and became active in pro-democracy political movements siding Mohammad Mosaddegh and advocating national reforms. He was among the founding members of the National Front (Jabha-yi Millī) in 1949, later establishing the Dissident Society, a circle of nationalist intellectuals. He distanced himself from the National Front and Mosaddegh government around 1951 over disagreements concerning political strategy, institutional reform, and foreign-policy planning. Kaviani authored works on statecraft and strategic policy, and translated some dialogues of Plato.