By Nazanine Nouri
Hushang Ansary, a prominent industrialist and investor who previously served as Iran’s finance minister and its ambassador to the U.S., passed away on Jan. 4.
Ansary was born in Ahvaz, the capital of the southwestern province of Khuzestan – a region endowed with oil resources – in 1927. His father, educated in India and employed as a bank clerk, encouraged him to master English as a way of broadening his horizons and finding opportunities beyond Iran’s borders. His mastery of the English language allowed him, as a young man, to secure jobs with foreign wholesalers shipping goods to merchants in the country’s bazaars.
Ansary then began a career as a news correspondent, covering the Soviet invasion of northern Iran for the International News Service and other international news organizations. After traveling to Japan, he spent years living and working there. When the Shah made a state visit to Japan, he was impressed by the young Iranian, and invited Ansary to join his government.
Ansary quickly rose through the ranks of Iran’s foreign service and government. He was Iran’s Ambassador to the United States (1967-1969); Minister of Tourism and Information (1971-1974); Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance (1974-1977); and Chief Executive Officer of the National Iranian Oil Company (1977-1978).
Shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Ansary moved to the United States together with his wife Maryam Panahi Ansary and their two children, Nina and Nader. (The couple would later divorce, and Ansary would remarry Shahla Nazemian.)
Ansary became a U.S. citizen in 1986 and built a fortune through investments in the energy sector, initially with the Parman Group, a Houston-based holding company he established which oversaw diverse investments in oilfield equipment, real estate, textiles, international trade and leisure industries.
In 1997, Ansary became the Chief Executive Officer of IRI International Corporation, a manufacturer of oilfield equipment. Yet it was his 2005 acquisition and leadership of Stewart & Stevenson LLC – a Houston-based manufacturer of custom equipment for power generation, compression and military applications – that extended his influence in the energy and defense equipment industries.
Ansary was also a prominent philanthropist. Through the Ansary Foundation, which he established in 1998, he channeled resources towards medical, cultural and educational institutions such as the Weill Cornell Medical College, the Texas Heart Institute and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, and funded fellowships at Harvard and Texas A&M universities.
In 2004, Cornell University established the Ansary Center for Stem Cell Therapeutics in honor of a $15 million grant from Ansary and his wife Shahla, to focus on advancing stem cell research for regenerative medicine applications.
In 2007, the Ansarys provided $2.8 million in seed funding for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s initiative to build its collection of Islamic art. In 2013, the Ansary foundation supported the Cyrus Cylinder exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Ansary also provided substantial financial support to Republican political entities and candidates over the years. He served on the National Finance Committee of the Bush-Cheney 2004 Presidential Campaign, and was a trustee of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation. The Ansary Gallery of American History at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was named in his honor.
Ansary was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (awarded to individuals who exemplify outstanding leadership and commitment to American ideals) and the Woodrow Wilson Award for his contributions to international understanding and public service.
In 2013, the Baker Institute for Public Policy presented him with the James A. Baker III Prize for Excellence in Leadership, recognizing his distinguished public service and leadership in business and international affairs.
In 2017, he received the Great Immigrants Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York which honors naturalized US citizens for their achievements and contributions to American society.
