Cabinet of Jafar Sharif-Emami (1978)

The second government of Jafar Sharif Emami (Persian: دولت سوم جعفر شریف‌امامی) was one of the last governments of the Pahlavi dynasty, which operated from September 1978 to November 1978. The head of this government was Jafar Sharif-Emami. The Sharif Emami government was impeached by the parliament on 29 November 1978, but received a vote of confidence.

He decided to appoint Jafar Sharif-Emami to the post of prime minister, himself a veteran prime minister. Emami was chosen due to his family ties to the clergy, although he had a reputation of corruption during his previous premiership.^[1][2]

On 29 September 1978, Sharif Emami was elected Prime Minister and introduced his cabinet to the Shah on the same date and to the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 25 September 1978.^[3] The National Consultative Assembly gave his government a vote of confidence on 25 September 1978, with 177 votes out of 200.^[4]

Under the Shah's guidance, Sharif-Emami effectively began a policy of "appeasing the opposition's demands before they even made them."^[2] The government abolished the Rastakhiz Party, legalized all political parties and released political prisoners, increased freedom of expression, curtailed SAVAK's authority and dismissed 34 of its commanders,^[5] closed down casinos and nightclubs, and abolished the imperial calendar. The government also began to prosecute corrupt government and royal family members. Sharif-Emami entered into negotiations with Shariatmadari and National Front leader Karim Sanjabi to help organize future elections.^[5] Censorship was effectively terminated, and the newspapers began reporting heavily on demonstrations, often highly critically and negatively of the Shah. The Majlis (Parliament) also began issuing resolutions against the government.^[1]

Amidst the growing crisis, Sharif-Emami resigned on 5 November 1978, and was succeeded by General Gholam Reza Azhari, who formed a military government in an attempt to restore order.^[6]

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