Sadegh Ghotbzadeh

Sadegh Ghotbzadeh was a member of the Freedom Movement of Iran and a close associate of Ruhollah Khomeini during the exile years in Paris. He played a key role in the Iranian Revolution. He briefly served as the first head of IRIB in 1979, overseeing the transformation of the Shah-era National Iranian Radio and Television into the revolutionary broadcasting apparatus. He was subsequently appointed foreign minister, serving during the Iran hostage crisis and the early months of the Iran–Iraq War. Ghotbzadeh grew disillusioned with the clerical monopoly on power and was arrested in 1982 on charges of plotting a coup against Khomeini with the alleged involvement of Kazem Shariatmadari. He was executed by firing squad on 15 September 1982.