The 15 valence-electron iron(I) complex [Cp Fe(IiPr Me )] (1, Cp =C (C H -4-Et) ; IiPr Me =1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene) was synthesized in high yield from the Fe precursor [Cp Fe(μ-Br)] . Fe Mössbauer and EPR spectroscopic data, magnetic measurements, and ab initio ligand-field calculations indicate an S= 3/2 ground state with a large negative zero-field splitting. As a consequence, 1 features magnetic anisotropy with an effective spin-reversal barrier of U =64 cm . Moreover, 1 catalyzes the dehydrogenation of N,N-dimethylamine-borane, affording tetramethyl-1,3-diaza-2,4-diboretane under mild conditions.