December 21, 2018
Anvar Khamei, the last surviving co-founder of Iran’s communist Tudeh Party, died November 21 in Karaj, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). He was 102 years old.
A politician, sociologist and writer, Khamei was the last surviving member of the group that founded the party in 1941. He was arrested even before that in 1937 for his communist activities and imprisoned for four years.
In 1947, Khamei opposed the Tudeh Central Committee’s policies and quit the party, along with a number of other members. He then threw his support behind other leftist movements that were not aligned with the Soviet Union.
He was arrested again in 1953 after the coup d’etat that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and was imprisoned briefly. Then he left the country for Germany to continue his education.
Khamei worked for the UN in Africa for many years, returning to Iran after 16 years abroad. He was surprised when the Shah’s secret police didn’t even bother to call him in for questioning. “They just ignored me,” he said. “Maybe they thought I had died long ago.” But he was even allowed to write occasional columns for the daily Kayhan before the revolution.
