Aghazadeh

For other uses, see Aghazadeh (disambiguation).

Aghazadeh (Persian: آقازاده, lit. 'born to Agha or noble-born')[1] (Kurdish: آقازاده) is a term that entered the colloquialism in Iran and Kurdistan region in the 1990s[2] to describe the children of elite who emerge as the men of means and influence, usually in a way that resembles familial nepotism and corruption.[3] This includes utilization of the positions within the hierarchy to gain inside information and preferential status which results in replication of wealth and power across generations[3] and means "fewer top positions are available to talented people without family connections".[4]

The phenomenon is exemplified with family members of high-ranking officials in Iran such as Hashemi Rafsanjani, Nategh Nouri and Vaez Tabasi.[5] In the Kurdistan Region its children of high-ranking Kurdish government, KDP and PUK officials.[6]

In 2017, Zhen-e Khoob (Persian: ژن خوب meaning good genes), a new term was coined and became synonymous with Aghazadehs and "the privileges they enjoy".[7] The word Aghazadeh, which is used as a surname in Iran and Azerbaijan, is made up of two words Agha and Zadeh, where Agha is an Azerbaijani word meaning sir and the suffix zadeh means child. Respected people usually merchants where labeled Agha by people and as such their children became the bearers of Aghazadeh as their surname in order to point out that they were the children of the Agha.

  1. ^ Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi (25 September 2012), "Rafsanjani reacts to his Son's Arrest; Ahmadinejad's Last Visit to New York", Al-Monitor, archived from the original on 5 August 2017, retrieved 15 July 2017
  2. ^ Barry Rubin (2015). "Blocked Postwar Recovery". The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society and Culture. Routledge. p. 199. ISBN 9781317455783.
  3. ^ a b Suzanne Maloney (2015). Iran's Political Economy since the Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0521738149.
  4. ^ Mehdi Khalaji (11 June 2014), "Ailing Official Highlights Concentration of Power in Iran", The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (Policy Alert), retrieved 15 July 2017
  5. ^ Suzanne Maloney (2015). Iran's Political Economy since the Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0521738149.
  6. ^ Barwari, Araz (2019-04-09). "Nepotism Turns Into Work Discrimination in Kurdistan of Iraq". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  7. ^ Golnaz Esfandiari (5 September 2017), "Firestorm In Iran As Politician's Son Credits 'Good Genes' For His Success", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, retrieved 5 September 2017