Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi (Persian: حاجی ابراهیم شیرازی‎; 1745–1801), also known by his honorific title E'temad ol-Dowleh (اعتماد الدوله), was an Iranian statesman who served as the kalantar (lord mayor) of the city of Shiraz during the late Zand era and later as the first grand vizier of Qajar Iran.

In 1781, Ali-Morad Khan Zand captured Shiraz; to prevent riots, he dismissed all kadkhodas including Hajji Ebrahim, and sent them to Isfahan and fined them 40,000 tomans.

Lotf Ali Khan abandoned his campaigning and returned; he went to the south of Fars, where he clashed with Ebrahim's forces, which resulted in defeat, then marched on and camped Kazerun.

Ebrahim was present when Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated in Shushi; he quickly returned to Tehran and proclaimed Fath-Ali, the nephew of the late Shah, the new king, preventing a civil war.

An era filled with revolts, famine, disasters and general misery, it is estimated that the population of the country fell from 9 million in the beginning to 6m at the end.

In February 1769, His son, Hossein Qoli Khan Qajar took up arms against the Zand government and sought revenge for his father's death.

[7] After Karim Khan's death and the civil war between the Zand princes that followed, Ebrahim found an opportunity to increase his influence in Shiraz and to prevent the destruction of his property.

[15] Sadeq's forces were also defeated in several areas, such as Abadeh and Hezar; as a result, Ali-Morad Khan reached and besieged Shiraz in the same year.

[19] Ebrahim maintained his position; he connected with British merchants in Basra and made a deal with them in which they covered the economic losses in Shiraz and in return they had the right to trade.

[22] He knew he must collaborate with important urban bases to consolidate his role as kalantar; alongside Bazzar, there were Lutis, Qashqai, and Bakhtiari tribes and the clergy.

[37] Knowing this fact, Ebrahim knew that he had to conquer the Arg, in order to take control of the city by purging those loyal to Lotf Ali Khan.

[38] The commanders of his army had been separated from the young king by Ebrahim, who had informed them that if they did not abandon Lotf Ali Khan, their families inside the city would be harmed.

[56] Agha Mohammad appointed Ebrahim as his first and only vazir-e a'zam (grand vizier) and in imitation of the Safavid kings gave him the title of E'temad ol-Dowleh.

[61] In 1795, after the victory in Krtsanisi, Agha Mohammad Khan and his company, including Ebrahim, camped in Mugan plain,[62] where in 1736, Nader Shah, in front of notables of Iran, proclaimed himself king.

[77] Their aim was to persuade Agha Mohammad Khan to abandon his rule over Georgia, and also wanted to establish a link with Europe through Mingrelia.

[86] Ebrahim, who had strengthened his influence in some areas such as Shiraz, had the Crown Prince and Governor of Fars, Baba Khan report anything to him and address him with respect.

[96] The dispute between the kalantar of Tehran and the Grand Vizier was growing but neither of them dared to complain to Agha Mohammad Khan, who was at war, so they endured the situation.

[100] At this meeting, it was decided Agha Mohammad Khan's death should remain a secret for the time being so the army would not disintegrate and the situation in the realm would not become chaotic.

[104] Sadeq Khan stopped for two days in Sarab and handed over 2,000 of his troops to his brother Mohammad Ali Sultan, and sent him to conquer Tabriz.

[109] At the same time, Ebrahim wrote a letter telling the Crown Prince in Shiraz of the situation, then prepared with his brothers to organize an army to retake the conquered areas.

[116] In 1798, Hussein Qoli Khan blinded several officials of Shiraz, including Ebrahim's brother Mohammad Zaman, then set out to conquer Tehran.

The courier was arrested and the false messages revealed, leading Hussein Qoli to become uncertain of his chief's loyalty, abandoned his revolt, and surrendered to Fath-Ali Shah.

Their provocations and the growing fear of the power of Ebrahim's family led Fath Ali Shah to decide to oust and kill him.

[130] They had five children, four boys and a girl: The Qavam family remained powerless for a short time after Ebrahim's death but restored their wealth and gained alliances in court that protected them from schemes against them.

[12] Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi is considered a controversial figure in the modern history of Iran; some historians describe him as a "traitor" to Lotf Ali Khan while some admire his genius.

[7] Hossein Ahmadi sees Ebrahim as a politician who, when the country was in crisis, was forced to turn against Lotf Ali Khan to end it.

According to Ahmadi, despite Ebrahim's efforts to strengthen his position alongside the Zand and Qajar dynasties, he never gained the trust of powerful circles in a period in which the bureaucracy was weak, and met the same fate of Nizam al-Mulk and Rashid al-Din Hamadani, that would also befall Abol-Qasem Qa'em-Maqam and Amir Kabir.

[140] The demonization of Ebrahim partly comes from a heroic portrayal of Lotf Ali Khan as a saviour of Iran who was defeated by the kalantar's deception.

[12] The plan failed because Ebrahim had to surrender Fars to the Qajars but his wish was later realized by his son Ali Akbar, who formed the Khamseh tribal confederation.

[143] Ebrahim's downfall, which denoted the weakness of the ministers' autonomy toward the authoritarian power of the kings, and along with the death of Qa'em-Maqam and Amir Kabir, became a main concern for early intellectuals of the Iranian Enlightenment, whose wish for freedom of speech eventually resulted in the Constitutional Revolution.