The Qajar period marked a turning point in Iran’s political development. During the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar in the nineteenth century, limited and largely ceremonial attempts were made to establish consultative councils. These early assemblies, such as advisory councils attached to the royal court, were designed more to modernize the image of governance than to genuinely limit royal authority. Nevertheless, they introduced the language of consultation and representation into Iran’s political discourse.
The decisive transformation came with the Constitutional Revolution of the early twentieth century. Popular dissatisfaction with autocracy, economic mismanagement, and foreign interference culminated in mass protests and demands for the rule of law. As a result, Mozaffar al-Din Shah signed the decree establishing Iran’s first National Consultative Assembly on August 14, 1906. This moment marked the birth of modern parliamentarianism in Iran and laid the foundation for constitutional governance.
