Mir Mehdi Etimad

Mir Mehdi Etimad (1900 – 1981) was an Azerbaijani poet and writer, the author of the words of the hymn of the Azerbaijan People's Government.

He opened the new methodic "Etimad madrasa". He worked there as a teacher for 15 years.

He was the chairman of the "Assembly of poets" which was established in Tabriz after the Azerbaijan People's Government was established. He made a speech in journals and newspapers that were printed in Tabriz such as "Azerbaijan", "Vətən yolunda", "Urmiya", "Covdat", "Azərbaycan ulduzu" "Azad millat" "Democrat" etc.

After the Azerbaijan People's Government regressed, he stayed in a prison for two years, then he was released. He was exiled to Tehran because he wasn't allowed to stay in Azerbaijan.

Biography
Mir Mehdi Etimad was born in Tabriz in 1900. First he studied at the religious school of the Molla Yusif. After learning Arabic and Persian, he studied at the Mirza Abulqasim Khan's usuli jadid (modern) school. He finished his higher education at the "Talibiyya madrasa". After he finished his education he opened new methodic "Etimad madrasa" in Tabriz. There, he worked as a teacher for 15 years. Besides working as a teacher he was going in for creativity.

The books that he wrote during Rza Shah's period like "Badr-i-Qeyu-Al-Sabyaiv", "Manazeyi-Adabi" were printed 8 times, "Ayineyi-Akhlag" was printed 20 times. Later, he also wrote the works "Alifbayi-Jadid", "Gul gonchasi", "Tohfalul-Sabyaiv", "Gəlinlər bəzəyi", "Çərşənbə bazarı".

The National movement which started in south part of Azerbaijan in 1941-1946 opened the new stage in Etimad's creativity. He made a speech in journals and newspapers printed in Tabriz such as "Azerbaijan", "Urmiyya", "Jovdat", "Azad millet", "Fadai", "Democrat" etc.

The poem that he wrote was called "My Tabriz", which soon became popular and many songs were composed to this poem. He wrote the words of the hymn of the Azerbaijan People's Government, Jahangir Jahangirov composed a song to it. In 1945 the Assembly of Poets was established in Tabriz. The first meeting of the assembly was held on 7 January 1945 and Mir Mehdi Etimad was chosen as a chairman of the assembly.

In 1946 when the National Government of Azerbaijan fell down he was arrested in Tabriz. He stayed in a prison for two years. However after he was released, he was exiled from Azerbaijan and was forced to live in Tehran. Soon he entered into the literary environment of Tehran and became the most prominent delegate in Persian and Turkish literature. He took part in the poet assemblies like "Sahand", "Farzane" and others that were held. There he read his new poems. He was the founder and active member of some assemblies.

He died in 1981 in Tehran.