During World War II, Britain and the USSR were concerned by Reza Shah’s friendly relations with Germany. In 1941 the two countries invaded and occupied large areas of Iran. They forced Reza Shah to abdicate, and in the absence of a viable alternative, permitted Mohammad Reza to assume the throne. The new shah’s reign began against a backdrop of social …

Abu Al Hassan Ebtehaj (1899– 1999) was a banker and administrator who headed the Bank Melli during the rule of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Eugene R. Black Sr., former president of the World Bank, reported that he was “one of the most significant Iranians of the post-World War II period … an outstanding pioneer in Third World development, a …

While studying Spanish in Madrid, Irene met Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, the eldest son of Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, Xavier. In the summer of 1963, Princess Irene secretly converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. The first time the public or the Royal Family knew about the conversion was when a photograph appeared on the front page of …

Qamar was born in Takestan, a city in homeland. Her father died before she was born, and after her mother’s death from typhoid fever when she was one and a half years old, she was raised by her grandmother, rowzeh-khân (singer of soaz) at the darbar of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Mollâ Khayr-ol-Nesâ’ Eftekhâr-ol-Zâkerin (the latter name was bestowed on …

Forugh Farrokhzad was born in capital on 28 December 1934, to career military officer Colonel Mohammad Bagher Farrokhzad (the Farrokhzad family hail from Tafresh) and his wife Touran Vaziri-Tabar. The fourth of seven children (Amir, Massoud, Mehrdad, Fereydoun, Pooran, Gloria), she attended school until the ninth grade, then was taught painting and sewing at a girls’ school for the manual …

Manuchehr Farid is known for My heritage, insanity (1981), Downpour (1972) and Stranger and the Fog (1976).In the decade of 1966-1976 of film-making in Iran, various factors provided the production of a large number of feature, documentary, and animated films as well the entrance of many young film-makers into the arena of film-making with fresh, new perceptions and approaches.

Hamid Ashraf (1946 – 1976) was one of the original member and later the leader of the Organization of People’s Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG) that waged a guerrilla warfare against the former Pahlavi regime in homeland from February 8, 1971 till February 11, 1979, the Shah’s fall. Hamid Ashraf played a key role in consolidating the OIPFG as a militant armed …

Javad Fakoori (1936 – 1981) was a prominent military figure who served as the 4th defence minister of homeland in September 1980 to August 1981.Fakoori was a commander of the Islamic Republic of homeland Air Force at the rank of colonel. He entered the Air Force in 1958 as a fighter pilot of the F-100. He later qualified on the …

Farrokh Negahdar (born 1946) is a leftist political activist.Born into a civil servant family, Negahdar joined the Organization of persian People’s Fedai Guerrillas in 1963, and began studying at University of capital in 1965.Two years later he was arrested by SAVAK for his activities with Bijan Jazani, and resleased in 1968, being rearrested and confined until 1977.

On 19 July 1966, Hoveyda married Laila Emami (1932–2018) in a small ceremony. Only a small number of guests were invited to attend, including the Shah, Queen Farah, Laila’s parents, Hoveyda’s mother, and his friend Manouchehr Shahgholi, and his wife. The marriage ended five years later in 1971, but the two would remain friends, often traveling together. Hoveida had no …