Abul Hassan Ebtehaj (1899– 1999) was an Iranian banker and administrator who headed the Bank Melli during the rule of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Eugene R. Black Sr., former president of the World Bank, reported that he was "one of the most significant Iranians of the post-World War II period ... an outstanding pioneer in Third World development, a nationalist utterly committed to the promotion of his country's interests." Early life and education Ebtehaj was born in Rasht on 29 November 1899. His father was a customs official. At age 11 he was sent to the Lycée Montaigne in Paris. Then he continued his studies at the Syrian Protestant College, today American University, in Beirut. Career Ebtehaj started his career at the Imperial Bank of Iran in 1920. He became a government inspector for the Agricultural Bank in 1936 and also, worked as an inspector for the state-owned enterprises. He was named as vice-president of Bank Melli, the Persian state bank, in 1940. He was appointed chairman and managing director of the Mortgage Bank. Then he was appointed president of Bank Melli in 1942. He was removed from office by the Prime Minister Haj Ali Razmara in 1950 after the decentralization of the Seven Year Plan. Next he was appointed ambassador of Iran to France in 1950, but he was removed from the post in 1952. After his diplomatic post, he worked at the World Bank as the director of the Middle East Department. In 1954 he returned to Iran and was made the chief of the Plan Organization and Budget Office. His term ended in February 1959 when he resigned from office. Ebtehaj cofounded a private bank named Bank-e Iranian (Persian: Iranians’ Bank) in January 1960 and became its chairman and president. Arrest Ebtehaj criticized the economic policies of Iran on various platforms, including BBC Panorama interview. He was arrested on 11 November 1961 shortly after his return to Iran from a meeting in San Francisco where he also had expressed his critical views. The reason for his arrest was the allegations of corruption related to his tenure as the director of the planning office. He was released from prison in May 1962. Personal life, later years and death Ebtehaj married twice, and his second wife was Azar Sani with whom he married in 1956. He had no child from his first marriage. He had a son and