Gholamreza Pahlavi

Gholamreza Pahlavi (Persian: غلامرضا پهلوی‎‎; 15 May 1923 – 7 May 2017) was an Iranian prince and a member of the Pahlavi dynasty, as the son of Reza Shah and half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

Gholamreza Pahlavi
Born(1923-05-15)15 May 1923
Tehran, Persia
Died7 May 2017(2017-05-07) (aged 93)
Paris, France
SpouseHoma Aalam (m. 1947–d. 1956)
Manijeh Jahanbani (m. 1962–2017, his death)
IssuePrincess Mehrnaz
Prince Bahman
Princess Azardokht
Princess Maryam
Prince Bahram
HousePahlavi dynasty
FatherReza Shah
MotherTuran Amirsoleimani

Following the death of his half-sister Ashraf Pahlavi on 7 January 2016,[1] Gholamreza became the only living child of Reza Pahlavi. He resided in Paris with his family. He died on 7 May 2017 at the age of 93, eight days before his 94th birthday.

Early life and education

Pahlavi was born on 15 May 1923 in Iran. He was the fifth child and third son of Reza Shah, the founder of the Iranian Pahlavi dynasty.[2][3] His mother, Turan (Qamar al Molouk) Amirsoleimani, was related to the Qajar dynasty deposed in 1925 in favor of Reza Shah.[4] More specifically, she was the daughter of a Qajar dignitary, Issa Majd al Saltaneh.[5][6][7] She was also the granddaughter of Majd ed-Dowleh Qajar-Qovanlu Amirsoleimani, Naser al Din Shah's maternal cousin.[7] Gholamreza's parents were married in 1922 and divorced shortly after his birth in 1923.[3][5]

He received primary education in Persia (Iran) and then went to Switzerland for secondary education.[3] In 1936, he returned to Iran and attended military school.[3] He accompanied his father, Reza Shah, to his exile in Mauritius when he was forced to abdicate in September 1941.[3][8] In the aftermath of Reza Shah's abdication, the British and Russian envoys attempted to put Gholamreza on the throne, bypassing then Crown Prince Mohammad Reza when their efforts to end the Pahlavi dynasty and reinstate the Qajar dynasty failed.[9] It, however, also did not work.[9] Gholamreza graduated from Princeton University.[8] Upon returning to Iran, he attended military officers' training college for a military career. He retired as a brigadier general.[3]

Career and activities

Pahlavi began his career in Iran's armed forces., serving as inspector general.[10][11] After holding different positions in the army he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 1973.

In 1955, he became a member of the International Olympic Committee.[12] He also served as president of the Iranian National Olympic Committee.[13] He was a member of the Royal Council which ruled Iran during the international visits of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[14]

From December 5 to 13, 1973, he and his wife officially visited China just before the first Iranian ambassador, Abbas Aram, began to serve in that country.[15] As president of the Iranian national Olympic committee, he supported China's objection to Taiwan's participation in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.[16] However, he never tended to play an active role in domestic politics.[17] During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he owned land in Iran and was a large shareholder in six firms.[18]

Personal life and later years
Gholamreza Pahlavi at Book Launch Ceremony in Nice, France, 2007.

Pahlavi married Homa Aalam on 4 April 1947 in Tehran. They had a daughter, Mehrnaz (born 4 February 1949), and a son, Bahman (born 30 January 1950). They divorced in 1956 and he married Manijeh Jahanbani, a Qajar princess,[7] in Tehran on 6 March 1962. This marriage produced two daughters and a son.[2]

Pahlavi left Iran before the 1979 revolution along with other relatives.[18] He settled in Paris. In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali, a religious judge and then chairman of the Revolutionary Court, informed the press that a death sentence was passed on the members of the Pahlavi family, including Gholamreza and other former Shah officials.[19] He died at the age of 93 in the American Hospital of Paris on 7 May 2017.[20]

Book

Pahlavi published a book, Mon père, mon frère, les Shahs d'Iran ("My father, my brother, the Shahs of Iran"), in 2005, dealing with both his experiences and thoughts about the future of Iran. The book was published in French and Persian. ISBN 2915685061

Honours

National honours
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Pahlavi
  • Order of Glory
  • Order of Military Merit, 2nd class
  • Order of Service, 2nd class
  • Order of Rashtakhiz, 1st class
  • National Uprising Medal [28th Amordad 1332 Medal] (1953)
  • Imperial Coronation Medal (26 October 1967)

Foreign honours

References
  1. Liam Stack (8 January 2016). "Ashraf Pahlavi, Sister of Iran's Last Shah, Defender and Diplomat, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. "The Imperial Regime was not a model of Democracy but?". Rozaneh Magazine. November–December 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  3. Gholamali Haddad Adel; Mohammad Jafar Elmi; Hassan Taromi-Rad, eds. (1 October 2012). Pahlavi Dynasty: An Entry from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. MIU Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-908433-01-5. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  4. Cyrus Ghani (6 January 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. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  5. "Reza Shah Pahlavi". Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. Mehdi Jangravi. "Reza Shah's Wives". Institute for Iranian Studies. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  7. "The Qajars (Kadjars) and the Pahlavis". Qajar Pages. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  8. Mohammad Gholi Majd (25 September 2001). Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921-1941. University Press of Florida. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-8130-2111-9. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  9. Fariborz Mokhtari (Spring 2005). "No One will Scratch My Back: Iranian Security Perceptions in Historical Context" (PDF). The Middle East Journal. 59 (2). Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  10. "Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi". Foundation for Iranian Studies. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  11. Edgar Burke Inlow (1 January 1979). Shahanshah: The Study of Monarchy of Iran. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 91. ISBN 978-81-208-2292-4. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  12. "The Olympic Games" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Lausanne. 1962. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  13. "Address by H.I.H. Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi" (PDF). LA 84 Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  14. "Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology". Middle East Journal. 4 (1): 83–93. January 1950. JSTOR 4322139.
  15. John W. Garver (1 July 2006). China and Iran: Ancient Partners in a Post-Imperial World. University of Washington Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-295-80121-6. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  16. "IOC put off decision on China issue". New Straits Times. 25 May 1975. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  17. Ali Akbar Dareini (1 January 1999). The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 123. ISBN 978-81-208-1642-8. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  18. "105 Iranian firms said controlled by royal family". The Leader Post. Tehran. AP. 22 January 1979. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  19. "No Safe Haven: Iran's Global Assassination Campaign". Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  20. "Gholam Reza Pahlavi Passes Away". BBC Persian Service. 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
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