Ali Reza Pahlavi (born 1966)

Ali Reza Pahlavi
Prince
Ali Reza in 1976
Born(1966-04-28)28 April 1966
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Died4 January 2011(2011-01-04) (aged 44)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Cause of death
Suicide
PartnerRaha Didevar (2007–2011)
IssueIryana Leila Pahlavi
HousePahlavi
FatherMohammad Reza Pahlavi
MotherFarah Diba

Ali Reza Pahlavi (Persian: علیرضا پهلوی; 28 April 1966 – 4 January 2011) was the heir presumptive to the headship of the deposed Pahlavi dynasty from 1980 until his death in 2011. He was the younger son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah of Iran[1] and his third wife Farah Diba.[2] He was second in order of succession to the Iranian throne before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

He left Iran alongside his family shortly before the Revolution. He moved to the United States, where he ultimately received a BA degree from Princeton University, an MA degree from Columbia University, and was studying at Harvard University as a PhD student in ancient Iranian studies and philology at the time of his death.

On 4 January 2011, he committed suicide after battling with depression.[3][4]

Biography

The Iranian royal family on Alireza Pahlavi's birthday, 1966.

Ali Reza Pahlavi was born on 28 April 1966, to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and his third wife Farah Diba.[5][6] He was the heir presumptive to the headship of the deposed Pahlavi dynasty from 1980 until his death in 2011. He was second in order of succession to the Iranian throne before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

He attended the Niavaran Palace primary school in Iran.[7]

Ali Reza (right) with his younger sister Leila (left) at Niavaran Palace, taken prior to 1979.

He left Iran and entered exile alongside his family shortly before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He moved to the United States, where he attended Saint David's School in Manhattan in New York City, and Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, Massachusetts.[8] Pahlavi received a BA degree from Princeton University where he studied music and ethnomusicology, an MA degree from Columbia University,[9] and was studying at Harvard University as a PhD student in ancient Iranian studies and philology at the time of his death.[6][10]

Official family portrait, with Ali Reza second from the left, 1978.

In 2001, he was engaged to Sarah Tabatabai but the relationship seems to have ended some time afterwards.[11] He made a rare public appearance in 2005 at the funeral of Prince Rainier III of Monaco in Monte Carlo, alongside his mother Farah Diba.[12]

From 2007 to 2011 he was in a relationship with Raha Didevar, to whom he became engaged in 2010.[13] Their daughter, Iryana Leila Pahlavi was born in Boston on 26 July 2011. He was once voted one of the "world's most eligible princes."[14]

Death

On 4 January 2011, after a long period of depression and at 44 years of age, Pahlavi died in his apartment in the South End, Boston (141 West Newton Street) from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[15][16]

Mahnaz Afkhami, the former Iranian Minister of Women's Affairs of the Shah's government, told the BBC World Service that Pahlavi and his family being forced into exile in 1979 was very "traumatic" for Ali Reza. He said that Ali Reza had experienced a "loss of identity" in exile.[17]

In June 2001, Ali Reza's younger sister, Leila Pahlavi, had also committed suicide.[14] Close family friends say that Ali Reza became very depressed after the death of his sister, to whom he was very close.[18]

Ali Reza was survived by his mother, Farah Pahlavi, his older brother Reza, his sister Farahnaz, half-sister Shahnaz, daughter, and partner.[19][20] On 23 January 2011, an official memorial was held in The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.[21] The memorial was attended by the former Iranian imperial family and thousands of Iranians.[22]

His brother Reza Pahlavi said that Ali Reza's wish had been to be cremated, and for his ashes to be scattered in the Caspian Sea.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Yearbook of the Encyclopedia Americana Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine - Page 37
  2. ↑ The Middle East and North Africa. Europa Publications. 1977. ISBN 978-0-905118-11-6. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Shah of Iran's youngest son shoots himself".
  4. ↑ "Son of Iran's former shah commits suicide in US".
  5. ↑ The Statesman's year-book Archived 21 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Volume 110 - Page 1046
  6. 1 2 Scott, Marcia (4 January 2011). "AFP: Son of Iran shah commits suicide in US: family". Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ali Reza Pahlavi". farahpahlavi.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ali Reza Pahlavi". Farah Pahlavi. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  9. ↑ ضایعه در گذشت شاهزاده گرامی میهنمان علی رضا پهلوی Archived 22 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine,
  10. ↑ "News / International: Son of former Iranian shah found dead in Boston". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  11. ↑ "Ein Herz und keine Krone" Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Die Welt. 16 November 2001.
  12. ↑ "Shah of Iran's son Alireza Pahlavi found dead at US home". The Guardian. 5 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Reza Pahlavi".
  14. 1 2 Hoffer, Steven (4 January 2011). "Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi Commits Suicide: 5 Facts About the Shah of Iran's Son". Aolnews.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  15. ↑ Whitney, Katherine; Emery, Leila (16 March 2020). My Shadow is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9781477320273.
  16. ↑ "Alireza Pahlavi Suicide: Iran Shah's Son Killed Himself In Boston, Says Brother". HuffPost. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ↑ "Shah of Iran's younger son kills himself in US". BBC News. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  18. ↑ "Former shah of Iran's youngest son dead in apparent suicide". The Washington Post. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  19. ↑ "Son of former shah of Iran commits suicide". CNN. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Announcement of Birth". Reza Pahlavi website. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Memorial Ceremony For Prince Alireza Pahlavi". Reza Pahlavi website. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  22. ↑ "Thousands attend memorial services for Alireza Pahlavi in Maryland". Payvand. 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  23. ↑ "Dead son of Iran's last Shah to be cremated". Euronews. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
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