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Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran

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His Imperial Highness
Crown Prince
Reza Pahlavi
File:Gasdfas.jpg
HIH Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi
Reign27 July 1980 - present
PredecessorMohammad Reza Pahlavi
SuccessorMonarchy exiled; Islamic Republic of Iran declared
SpouseYasmine Pahlavi
IssueHIH Princess Noor
HIH Princess Iman
HIH Princess Farah Pahlavi
HousePahlavi
FatherMohammad Reza Pahlavi
MotherFarah Diba
ReligionShi'ite Muslim

HIH Prince Reza Pahlavi (Persian: رضا پهلوی, born October 31, 1960) is the former Crown Prince of Iran and the older son of the late Emperor of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi. He was the Crown Prince of Iran until the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Since then he has been living in exile and has been a leading and vocal advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights for Iran.

Biography

In 1978, Reza Pahlavi left Iran and moved to the United States to complete his higher education.[1] He was trained as a jet fighter pilot at the Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas, and attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, before graduating with a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. He has not returned to Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

After the revolution, Reza Pahlavi lived in exile in Morocco and Egypt until 1984, when he settled in the United States.

In 2004, Reza Pahlavi was named as the "unofficial godfather"[2] of Princess Louise of Belgium the eighth granddaughter of King Albert II of Belgium. The decision to choose him was criticized by the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic.

Family

He married Yasmine Etemad Amini on June 12, 1986 and currently lives in exile in the United States, with their three daughters: Noor (born April 3, 1992), Iman (born September 12, 1993), and Farah (born January 17, 2004).

Pahlavi's siblings include his sister HIH Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi (March 12, 1963), brother HIH Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (April 28, 1966), as well as a half-sister, HIH Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (October 27, 1940). His youngest sister, HIH Princess Leila Pahlavi, died of a drug overdose on June 10, 2001 at the age of 31.


Iranian imperial family

Empress Farah

Monarchy

Following in a line of Iranian monarchic dynasties stretching back 3000 years, the Pahlavi dynasty was founded early in the 20th-century. The revolution of 1979 led to the replacement of the Iranian Constitutional Monarchy with an Islamic republic. Although the most prominent royals now live in exile, some Iranians still regard Pahlavi as the current Shah of Iran. After the death of his father, Mohammad Reza Shah, Pahlavi symbolically declared himself Shāhanshāh (Literally, King of Kings in Persian) at the age of 21, but now his press releases refer to him as either "Reza Pahlavi" or "the former Crown Prince".

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi after he was declared Shāhanshāh in Koubbeh Palace in Cairo

Offer to fight during the Iran–Iraq War

In 1980, at the start of the Iran–Iraq War, Pahlavi, a highly-trained fighter pilot, wrote to General Valiollah Fallahi, Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic, offering to fight in the air force for Iran in the war. The offer was rebuffed.[3]

Politics

Reza Pahlavi has used his high profile status as an Iranian abroad to campaign politically for human rights, democracy, and unity among Iranians in Iran and outside it.[4] On his website he calls for a separation of religion and state in Iran and for free and fair elections "for all freedom-loving individuals and political ideologies". He exhorts all groups dedicated to a democratic agenda to work together for a democratic and secular Iranian government.[5]

Pahlavi has used media appearances to urge Iran's theocratic government to accept a referendum that uses independently verifiable international standards and observation mechanisms.[6][7][8] He has also urged Iranians to engage in a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience, starting with non-participation in elections of the Islamic republic (elections he views as "undemocratic"), followed by peaceful demonstrations and strikes. He is, however, an outspoken opponent of any foreign military intervention for regime change in Iran,[9] believing that the people of Iran alone have the power to bring about change in their governmental system and society.

Human rights

On March 27, 2010 Reza Pahlavi was invited by the International Society of Human Rights in Bonn, Germany to speak on the challenge of implementing democracy and human rights in Iran:[10]

"...democracy and human rights for Iran is not just a slogan; it is our unique hope for salvation and the fundamental element which will bring long term political stability as well as put our nation back on the track of modernity, progress and prosperity. Iranians have come a long way, particularly in this last century. We have paid a heavy price while learning valuable lessons. As such, we are stronger as a society and perhaps clearer in our collective vision of a better future."

On December 30, 2009, Reza Pahlavi wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, urging member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Iran:[11]

"I cannot overstate the urgency of the matter. Widespread and increasing violations of the human rights of millions of my compatriots in Iran have reached catastrophic proportions. The continuation of the current state of affairs in Iran is potentially a serious threat to the peace and security of the region if not the international community as a whole. The situation seems particularly urgent if one also considers the insistence of the clerical government to continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions in defiance of its binding international obligations and the repeated recommendations of the Security Council of the United Nations."

On August 5, 2005, Pahlavi wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, to criticize the decision "not to call for a Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran during the last meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights."[12] In the letter, he wrote:

Many if not all the political prisoners in Iran are brutalized and held in solitary confinement in spite of the numerous specific recommendations of the United Nations to stop and put an end to such inhuman practices. Unfortunately the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far ignored these recommendations as well as all the urgent appeals made by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Despite the threats, human rights activists in Iran continue to fight for their freedom and human rights at the risk of imprisonment, torture, disappearance and death. I salute their courage and dedication.

Quotes

  • History has repeatedly proven to us that a clear separation between religion and state is imperative in order to have the right circumstances for democratic governance.[13]
  • Idealism and realism, behavior change and regime change do not require different policies but the same: empowering the Iranian people.[14]
  • June 22, 2009: "At worst, fanatical tyrants who know that the future is against them may end their present course on their terms: a nuclear holocaust,"[15]

Honors

Personal Coat of Arms on the Imperial Standard of the Crown Prince
Imperial Standard of the Iranian Shah

Publications

File:The Deciding Hour.jpg
.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi: 'Iran Is My True and Only Home ... Spiegel online
  2. ^ The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the child being baptized, does not accept non-Catholics as godparents, given the religious nature of the role, so Pahlavi's role was downgraded to unofficial, not formal.
  3. ^ Middle East News
  4. ^ http://www.zenit.org/article-20209?l=german
  5. ^ http://www.rezapahlavi.com/speeches/?english&id=437
  6. ^ BBC Radio
  7. ^ Reza Pahlavi interview
  8. ^ Reza Pahlavi interview
  9. ^ Reza Pahlavi interview
  10. ^ http://www.rezapahlavi.com/speeches/?english&id=437
  11. ^ Letter to Ban Ki-moon
  12. ^ Letter to Kofi Annan
  13. ^ http://www.rezapahlavi.com/speeches/?english&id=437
  14. ^ Hudson Institute Briefing Series
  15. ^ AFP: Police fire tear gas as Iran protesters defy Guards warning
  16. ^ a b c "www.4dw.nwet".
  17. ^ The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the child being baptized, does not accept non-Catholics as godparents, given the religious nature of the role, so Pahlavi's role was downgraded to unofficial, not formal.
  18. ^ http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Princess-Louise-of-Belgium
  19. ^ Reza Pahlavi´s Web site
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.


Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
Born: 31 October 1960
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
Shah of Iran
27 July 1980 – present
Reason for succession failure:
Monarchy abolished in 1979 		Incumbent
Heir:
Prince Ali-Rez̤ā Pahlavī II
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