Mohammad Reza Shah took advantage of the fact that he had survived the attack with minor injuries. He presented a law to parliament to establish a second chamber, the Senate (Kakh-e Majles-e Sena), which, although provided for in the 1906 constitution, had not yet been constituted. Parliament approved the bill on February 27, 1949, and the Senate was opened by the Shah on April 21, 1949. With the establishment of the Senate, Mohammad Reza Shah was able to expand his power base vis-à-vis parliament, since half of the senators were appointed by the Shah and half were elected by the population. The first session of the Senate took place on February 9, 1950.
