Abu Al Hassan Ebtehaj (1899– 1999) was a banker and administrator who headed the Bank Melli during the rule of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Eugene R. Black Sr., former president of the World Bank, reported that he was “one of the most significant Iranians of the post-World War II period … an outstanding pioneer in Third World development, a nationalist utterly committed to the promotion of his country’s interests.”