Ahmad Houshang Sharifi was an Iranian professor of Law and former minister of Education. He also served as president of the University of Tehran from November 1976 to September 1977 and the National University of Iran from 1973 to 1974
Early life and education
Sharifi was born in 1925 in Tehran to Zain al-Abidin Sharifi Qazvini, a prominent calligrapher of the Qajar period, known by the honorific titles Sadr al-Kuttab (Chief of Scribes) and Malik al-Khattatin (King of Calligraphers). The family moved to Khorasan in 1941 after restrictions on clerical attire were enforced in the capital, and thereafter supported himself through calligraphic work. Sharifi's brother, Javad Sharifi, was also a calligrapher of the Pahlavi period, known for hand-copying major works of Persian literature, including the ruba'i of Omar Khayyam, the ghazals of Shams-e Tabrizi, and the shahnameh of Ferdowsi.
Sharifi obtained his secondary schooling in Tehran, and later traveled to France, where he enrolled at the University of Strasbourg where he undergraduated, followed by a master's degree in law at the same institution. He subsequently earned a doctorate in economics.
Career
Upon returning to Iran, Sharifi joined the Ministry of Culture as a teacher. After several years in secondary education, he was appointed as an assistant professor at the University of Tehran.
On 15 February 1968, he was appointed president of the Higher Teacher Training College (Danshsaray-e Aali). He served in the post for approximately six years.
From September 1973 to May 1974, Sharifi served as president of the National University of Iran, now known as Shahid Beheshti University, a tenure of less than eight months. He also served as deputy minister of Education during one period of his career, and from November 1976 to September 1977 as dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Tehran.
In the government of Amir-Abbas Hoveyda (1974–1977), Sharifi was appointed minister of Education, succeeding Farrokhrou Parsa, Iran's first female cabinet minister.
In 1977, Sharifi was appointed as Iran's representative to UNESCO. Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, he relocated to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life.