Empress Farah Pahlavi
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| Farah Pahlavi | |
| Empress of Iran | |
 Official State portrait of Farah taken May 30, 1972 |
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| Titles | Empress Farah Pahlavi (1979) HIM Shahbanou (Empress) Farah of Iran (1967-1979) HIM Malekeh (Queen) Farah of Iran (1959-1967) Miss Farah Diba (1938-1959) |
|---|---|
| Born | October 14, 1938 |
| Birthplace | Tehran, Iran |
| Consort | December 29, 1959 - 1979 |
| Consort to | Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran |
| Issue | Reza Pahlavi Farahnaz Pahlavi Ali Reza Pahlavi Leila Pahlavi |
| Royal House | House of Pahlavi |
| Father | Sohrab Diba |
| Mother | Farideh Ghotbi |
Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran (née Farah Diba, Persian: فرح دیبا Faraḥ Dība, born October 14, 1938), is widow and third wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, and only Shahbanu (Empress) of modern Iran.
Though the titles and distinctions of the Iranian imperial family were legally abolished by the new government, she often is styled Empress or Shahbanou, out of courtesy, by foreign media as well as by supporters of the former monarchy. She does use the title Empress Farah Pahlavi, a combination of title and surname that has no dynastic precedent, though her children do not use their former titles in any official manner.[1]
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[edit] Birth
She was born in Tehran as Farah Diba, the only child of Sohrab Diba and his wife, Farideh Ghotbi. Her mother was originally from Gilan and her father, who died when she was a child, was an officer in the Imperial Iranian Army whose family was originally from Iranian Azarbaijan.
[edit] Education and marriage
She studied at the French school in Tehran and École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, where she was a student of Albert Besson. While a student, she was introduced to the recently divorced Shah by his son-in-law, Ardeshir Zahedi. The two were wed on December 21, 1959 and had four children:
- Reza Pahlavi (born October 30, 1960)
- Farahnaz Pahlavi (born March 12, 1963)
- Ali Reza Pahlavi (born April 28, 1966)
- Leila Pahlavi (March 27, 1970 - June 10, 2001)
[edit] Contributions to art and culture in Iran
After her marriage and coronation, the queen continued to be active in the field of art and culture. She made several important contributions to revitalizing the contemporary cultural scene in Iran and was instrumental in creating several cultural centers and institutions, including Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Shiraz Art Festival and Tehran City Theatre (Theatre-e Shahr).
[edit] The Iranian revolution and exile
As it became clear that the Iranian Revolution would be successful, Empress Farah accompanied her husband into exile, departing from Iran on January 16,1979. Their children had been sent earlier to Farideh Diba, the mother of the Empress, who lived in the United States.
The couple first went to Egypt, then later stayed in Morocco, the Bahamas, Mexico, the United States and Panama, before finally returning to Egypt, where they remained until the Shah's death on July 27, 1980. Some years later, Farah bought a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, but has not lived there since the death of her daughter, Princess Leila Pahlavi. In 2001, she bought a home in Potomac, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., to be near her son and grandchildren; she now divides her time between Washington D.C., New York City, Paris, and Cairo, where she has a palace. Reza Pahlavi, her son, is politically active with the goal of introducing a true democracy to Iran. Farah currently has three grandchildren through Reza and his wife Yasmine: Iman (b.1992), Noor (b.1993), and Farah (b.2005).
[edit] Memoir
In 2003, Farah Pahlavi wrote a book about her marriage to the Shah entitled An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah. It was published in the United States in 2004 by Miramax Books and elsewhere around the world.
The publication of the former empress's memoirs attracted international interest. It was a bestseller in Europe, with excerpts appearing in news magazines and the author appearing on talk shows and in other media outlets. However, opinion about the book, which Publishers Weekly called "a candid, straightforward account" and the Washington Post called "engrossing", was mixed.
In The New York Times, Elaine Sciolino, the paper's Paris bureau chief, described the book as "well translated" but "so full of anger and bitterness that her memoir distorts more than it enlightens." She also questioned the author's accuracy regarding historical events, noting that the former empress declined to explain "the fact that it took a coup orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency to restore the shah to the throne in 1953 ...." In the end, Sciolino described the book as promotional device, "an emotional appeal to restore the crown to her [son] Reza, who is leading an opposition movement against the Islamic Republic from his residence and his office, outside Washington, and a Web site."[2]
In The National Review, however, Iranian writer Reza Bayegan praised An Enduring Love, stating that the former empress's memoirs "abound with affection and sympathy for her countrymen. Even a prime minister like Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq, who nearly caused the shah's overthrow in 1953, is treated with fairness and praised for his courage and firmness."[3]
[edit] Titles
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- Miss Farah Diba (1938-1959)
- H.I.M. Malekeh (Queen) Farah of Iran (1959-1967)
- H.I.M. Shahbanou (Empress) Farah of Iran (1967-1979)
- Empress Farah Pahlavi (1979-), the title she has chosen for herself but which does not conform to dynastic usage
[edit] See also
- Iranian women
- A.S.P. Towers
[edit] References
- ^ See her website, noted below.
- ^ Elaine Sciolino, The Last Empress, The New York Times, 2 May 2004.
- ^ Reza Bayegan, "The Shah & She", The National Review, 13 May 2004.
[edit] External links
- A web site dedicated to Reza Shah Kabir (the great) including video clip and photos
- Farah Pahlavi's official website
- Farah Pahlavi, Iran's Ex-Empress, Receives the Anne Morrow Lindbergh Grace and Distinction Award 2005
- Shahram Razavi's online photo album "Imperial Iran of the Pahlavi Dynasty"
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Empress Farah Pahlavi
Born: 14 October 1938 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Sorayâ Asfandiyâri |
Queen consort of Iran 21 December 1959 – 1967 Empress Consort of Iran 1967 - 11 February 1979 |
Monarchy abolished |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| New title |
— TITULAR — Queen consort of Iran 11 February 1979 – 1967 Empress Consort of Iran 1967 - 27 July 1980 Reason for succession failure: Iranian Revolution |
Vacant |
