Abdul Reza Pahlavi

Abdul Reza Pahlavi (Persian: عبدالرضا پهلوی‎; 19 August 1924 – 11 May 2004) was a member of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty. He was a son of Reza Shah and a half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Abdul Reza Pahlavi
Born19 August 1924
Tehran, Iran
Died11 May 2004(2004-05-11) (aged 79)
Florida, United States
SpousePari Sima Zand
IssueKamyar Pahlavi
Sarvenaz Pahlavi
HousePahlavi
FatherReza Shah
MotherEsmat Dowlatshahi

Early life and education

Abdul Reza Pahlavi was born on 19 August 1924 in Tehran.[1] His parents were Reza Pahlavi and Princess Esmat Dowlatshahi, the daughter of Prince Mojalal-e Dowleh Dowlatshahi Qajar.[2] She was a member of the Qajar dynasty[2] and the fourth as well as last wife of Reza Pahlavi.[3] They married in 1923.[4][5] Abdul Reza had three brothers and a sister: Ahmad Reza, Mahmoud Reza, Fatimeh and Hamid Reza Pahlavi.[2][6] They lived in the Marble palace in Tehran with their parents.[3] When his father exiled, he accompanied him in Mauritius and then in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1941 to 1944. During this period there were rumors that the Allies had been planning to install Abdul Reza as king instead of his elder brother Mohammad Reza.[7]

He studied business administration at Harvard University.[8]

Career

During the reign of his half-brother, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Abdul Reza headed different institutions, On 3 September 1949 he was named honorary head of the supreme planning board of Iran's seven-year plan.[9] He was the head of the planning organization between 1954 and 1955. He served as the chairman of the Harvard-affiliated Iran centre for management studies from 1969 to 1979. He also headed the wildlife conservation high council and international council for game and wildlife conservation. He was also part of the Royal Council that ruled Iran during the international visits of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[9]

Pahlavi also dealt with business, being wholly or partly the owner of factories, mining operations and agricultural firms.[10] In addition, he dealt with environmental affairs during that time.[11] He left Iran before the 1979 revolution together with other relatives.[10]

Hunting and wildlife conservation
Young Abdul Reza

Pahlavi was an enthusiastic hunter and sportsman throughout his life.[12][13] He was the founder and president of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Game (IGF) in Paris, a group promoting wildlife conservation and responsible hunting in developing countries.[14]

Pahlavi assisted in the creation of Iran's first game laws and game enforcement agency, and helped establish more than 20 million acres of reserves and parks in Iran. While criticized for promoting trophy hunting for himself and friends, Pahlavi aggressively pursued poachers while head of the Iranian Dept. of the Environment, establishing one of the most extensive and successful big-game management programs in the developing world.[15] He was also responsible for enacting law protecting endangered species such as the gazelle, Caspian tiger, wild ass, cheetah, and the Persian fallow deer from extinction, imposing stiff fines for game law violators.[16] In 1978, he approved the transfer of four Persian fallow deer from Iran to Israel before the fall of the Shah. According to a survey by an Iranian environmentalist, Hoshang Zeaee, overhunting and environmental destruction since 1978 has resulted in the extinction of several species once native to the Iranian plateau, including the Jebeer Gazelle (Gazella Dorcas Fuscifrons) Persian Wild Ass (Equus Hermionus) Alborz Red Sheep (Ovis Ammon Orientaliss) Asian Cheetah ( Acinonyx Jubatus) Persian Fallow Deer (Dama Mesopotamica) and Goitered Gazelle (Gazella Subgutturosia).[17] He was awarded the Weatherby Award in 1962.

Personal life

Pahlavi married Pari Sima Pahlavi (née Zand) in Tehran on 12 October 1950.[18][19] He had two children from this marriage: Kamyar (born 1952) and Sarvenaz Pahlavi (born 1955).[1]

Death

Abdul Reza Pahlavi died in Florida on 11 May 2004.[1][20]

Honours

In addition to national honours, i.e., Grand Cross of the Order of Pahlavi, Pahlavi is the recipient of several foreign honours, including:

References
  1. "Pahlavi Dynasty". Iran. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  2. "The Qajars (Kadjars) and the Pahlavis". Qajar Pages. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. Diana Childress (2011). Equal Rights Is Our Minimum Demand: The Women's Rights Movement in Iran 2005. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7613-7273-8.
  4. "Reza Shah Pahlavi". Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  5. Gholam Reza Afkhami (2008). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 605. ISBN 978-0-520-94216-5.
  6. Cyrus Ghani (2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I.B.Tauris. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.
  7. Gholam Reza Afkhami (2008). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-520-94216-5.
  8. The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1998. p. 123. ISBN 978-81-208-1642-8.
  9. "Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology". Middle East Journal. 4 (1): 83–93. January 1950. JSTOR 4322139.
  10. "105 Iranian firms said controlled by royal family". The Leader Post. Tehran. AP. 22 January 1979.
  11. Edgar Burke Inlow (1979). Shahanshah: The Study of Monarchy of Iran. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 91. ISBN 978-81-208-2292-4.
  12. Boddington, Craig (22 August 2012). "Who Was the World's Greatest Hunter?". Hunting. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  13. Charles Levinson (1 February 2010). "How Bambi Met James Bond to Save Israel's 'Extinct' Deer". The Wall Street Journal. Jerusalem.
  14. His Imperial Higness Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi AfricaHunting.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016
  15. Iranian Revolution Stifles Big Game Hunting, The Pantagraph, 8 August 1979, Bloomington, Illinois p. 15
  16. Ecology Falls Prey To Iranian Revolt, The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 16 May 1980, p.
  17. Peyman Saloumeh. (Sept. 2005) Environment-Iran: Turning Ancient Forests Into Deserts IPS. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  18. Mayhew, Augustus. "Palm Beach Real Estate Roulette". New York Social Diary. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  19. "Palm Beach Biltmore". Wikimapia. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  20. "Death notice". Saipa. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  21. Boletín Oficial del Estado 15 March 1978
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