Farah Pahlavi
- فرح پهلوی
- Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi
- شهبانو فرح پهلوی
- Farah Diba-Pahlavi
- Empress Farah Pahlavi
- Sort Name
- Pahlavi, Farah
- Ratings
- No reviews
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Female
- Date of birth
- 1938-10-14
- Place of birth
- Tehran
Wikipedia
Farah Pahlavi (Persian: فرح پهلوی; née Diba [دیبا]; born 14 October 1938) is a member of the Pahlavi dynasty. She is the last queen and empress (شهبانو, Shahbânu) of Iran, and is the third wife and widow of the last shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
She was born into a prosperous Iranian family whose fortunes were diminished after her father's early death. While studying architecture in Paris, she was introduced to the Shah at the Iranian embassy, and they were married in December 1959. The Shah's first two marriages had not produced a son—necessary for royal succession—resulting in great rejoicing at the birth of Crown Prince Reza in October of the following year. As a philanthropist, she advanced the welfare of Iranian civil society through the establishment of charities and founded Iran's Shiraz University, Iran's first American-style university, increasing the number of women students. She also facilitated the recall of Iranian antiquities from museums abroad.
By 1978, growing anti-imperial unrest fueled by growing inequality between rich and poor throughout Iran was showing clear signs of impending revolution, prompting Farah and the Shah to leave the country in January 1979 under the threat of a death sentence. For that reason, most countries were reluctant to harbour them, with Anwar Sadat's Egypt being an exception. Facing execution should he return, and in ill health, Mohammad Reza died in exile in July 1980. Farah led the Pahlavi dynasty as regent until October 1980, when her son, Reza Pahlavi, declared himself Shah of Iran, ending Farah's regency.
Since 1979, she has lived in exile, primarily in the United States and France. She has been a vocal supporter of the Iranian protestors and critic of the Iranian Islamic regime in the wake of the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iranian hijab police in 2022, the subsequent execution of Iranian protester Mohsen Shekari later that year, and the 2025–2026 Iranian protests.
Annotation
Widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was the Queen and successively Shahbanu of Iran from 1959 to 1979.Last modified: 2021-04-28 (revision #61389)
Editions
| Name | Format | ISBN | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah: A Memoir | Paperback | 1401359612 | 2005 |
| Erinnerungen | Paperback | 3-404-61575-1 | 2005-11 |
| An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah: A Memoir | Hardcover | 9781401352097 | 2004 |
Relationships
- Farah Pahlavi is/was married to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
- Farah Pahlavi is the parent of Reza Pahlavi
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- Last Modified
- 2024-07-25