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Imelda R. Marcos
Marcos in 1982 during a state visit to the United States.
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Ilocos Norte's Second District
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2010
Preceded by	Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Leyte's First District
In office June 30, 1995 – June 30, 1998
Preceded by	Cirilo Roy G. Montejo
Succeeded by	Alfred S. Romuáldez
10th First Lady of the Philippines
In office December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986
Preceded by	Eva Macapagal
Succeeded by	Amelita Ramos
Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Region IV-A
In office June 12, 1978 – June 5, 1984
Governor of Metropolitan Manila
In office 1976 – February 25, 1986
Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary
In office 1978–1986
Minister of Human Settlements
In office 1978–1986
Personal details
Born	Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romuáldez (1929-07-02) July 2, 1929 (age 82) Manila, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Political party	Nacionalista (2009–present) Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–present)
Spouse(s)	Ferdinand Marcos (1954–1989)
Children	Imee Marcos Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Irene Marcos-Araneta Aimee Marcos
Alma mater	St. Paul's College
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Imelda R. Marcos (born Imelda Remedios Visitasion Romualdez on July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986. She is the first politician elected as member of the Philippine legislature in three geographical locations (Manila, Leyte, Ilocos Norte). In 2010, she was elected to become a member of the House of Representatives to represent Ilocos Norte's second district. She is sometimes referred to as the Steel Butterfly or the Iron Butterfly.^[1][2] She is often remembered for symbols of the extravagance of her husband's political reign, including her collection of 2,700 pairs of shoes.^[3]

Ancestry[link]

Her paternal ancestors, the Lopezes of Leyte, were wealthy, landed and prominent, and claimed to have founded the town of Tolosa, Leyte. Spanish mestizos, the Lopezes were descended from the Spanish friar and silversmith Don Francisco Lopez, originally from Granada in the Andalusian region of Spain. Together with Fray Salustiano Buz, he arrived by way of Acapulco to build Roman Catholic missions in the island provinces of Samar and Leyte (Buz would establish his home base in Palapag, Samar, the exit-entry point of the Manila Galleons in the Visayas islands).^[4] It was common then for Spanish friars to take mistresses, and Lopez's life-long relationship with a Chinese mestiza, Maria Crisostomo y Talentin of Basey, Samar, produced seven children. The eldest of them was Trinidad Lopez, or Doña Tidad in later years.

Her brothers remained in Leyte to manage the Lopez family's vast land holdings while Tidad and her sisters were forced to accompany their aging father to Manila, where Francisco Lopez was assigned by the Spanish clergy to the church in Pandacan, Manila, known for a miraculous well sought by tuberculosis patients. Through his connections, Fray Francisco Lopez's daughters were able to attend to nearby schools of the home administered by the local nuns. One of the tuberculosis pilgrims, Daniel Romualdez, courted Tidad, who eventually agreed to marriage. Her husband's relatives did not like her, especially when she decided to leave Manila for Leyte; she believed that Leyte's sea baths would be good for his lungs and constitution.

Daniel and Tidad had three sons: Norberto Lopez Romualdez, born in Burauen, Leyte; Miguel Lopez Romualdez, born in Dagami, Leyte; and Vicente Orestes Lopez Romualdez (Imelda's father), born in Tolosa, Leyte.

Early life and career[link]

Her branch of the family was not political. Her father, a law professor at Saint Paul's College and the administrator of the Romualdez Law Offices founded by his brother Philippine Supreme Court Justice Norberto Lopez Romualdez, was a scholarly man more interested in music and culture than public life. He was a traditionalist, preferring to teach in Spanish while the rest of the students and faculty spoke English and Tagalog.

Her mother, Remedios Trinidad y de Guzman or Remedios T. Romualdez, a former boarder at the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul (Looban Convent) in Paco, Manila, was said to have been born out of wedlock, the child of a friar.^[5] Remedios was from the town of Baliuag, Bulacan, and her own mother was from Capiz.

Marcos spent her childhood in the shadow of the Malacañang Palace in San Miguel District in Manila, since her family then lived near San Miguel Pro-Cathedral. (The Malacanang Gardens across the Palace used to be owned by her grandfather Daniel Romualdez. He sold the land for the education of his sons Norberto, Vicente Orestes and Miguel at the Ateneo de Manila). After Marcos's mother Remedios died in 1938, and their home was nearly foreclosed, her father, Vicente Orestes, moved his family back to Leyte to live on their abaca and coconut plantation given to him by his deceased mother, Doña Trinidad Romualdez y Lopez.^[5] Marcos earned a bachelor's degree in education in Tacloban's St. Paul's College."^[6]

She became a beauty queen and at the age of 18 was crowned the "Rose of Tacloban." She later became "Miss Leyte." Previously, during Philippine-American Friendship celebrations, a daughter of the prominent Price family of Tacloban was crowned "Miss America" while she was crowned "Miss Philippines."

Finally, she flew to Manila in 1950 after her cousin, Speaker Daniel Romualdez y Zialcita (her uncle ex-Manila mayor Miguel Lopez Romualdez's son) saw her potential to attract crowds. She worked in the music stores of the Escolta. Because of her beautiful singing voice, many customers requested for her to sing. She sang frequently and made many profits for the store. However, her father Vicente Orestes found out. He found it below a Romualdez to do such a thing, considering the Romualdez name carried such a cachet (a good name left as an undying legacy by eldest brother Norberto Lopez Romualdez, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court). He took the next flight from Tacloban to Manila. He stormed Danieling's offices and demanded an explanation. "Gin babaligya mo ba ang akon anak?" (Are you trying to sell my child?!) was his charge against Danieling. Thus, Marcos was later hired at the Philippine Central Bank headed by her speaker-cousin's brother, Eduardo Romualdez y Zialcita, in the brand new offices in Quezon City.

She took voice lessons at the music conservatory of the University of Santo Tomas with the help of Norberto's daughter, Loreto Romualdez Ramos and her friend, Mrs. Adoracion Reyes. Her photogenic face soon graced many of Manila's magazine covers and she was named the "Muse of Manila" by then Manila Mayor, Arsenio Lacson, a special title given to her after she protested her loss in the Miss Manila pageant.

During her early years in Manila, she lived with her cousin, Danieling and his wife Paz Gueco along Dapitan Street in Quezon City. There she was introduced to the machinations of political life since the house was a de facto headquarters for the Nacionalista party. Paz, or Pacing, took care of her ward Imelda. On certain family picnics along the Parua river straddling Magalang, Pampanga (where the Guecos owned large ricelands) and Concepción, Tarlac, she brought along Imelda, whom the Guecos were excited to see since she was so beautiful--- the newest political asset of the great politician holding sway in Eastern Visayas. On that picnic also came Benigno Aquino Jr from nearby Concepcion, who was himself a nephew of Pacing. It was Benigno or Ninoy whom Pacing asked to escort Imelda on the way home from her job in the Escolta on some nights. Also, she was once invited to the parties of Pedro Cojuangco or Pete, (eldest brother of Cory Aquino) where she was told to wear a flapper dress. She came home ridiculed and slighted by most of the landed scions of Pampanga.

After some time, Marcos started receiving formal visits from Ariston Nakpil, a United States educated heir to the Juan Nakpils of Manila. He was a son of a former Miss Philippines, Anita Noble. However, Ariston had a quick marriage-and-divorce episode. Essentially, he was a divorced man. To the eyes of the Romualdezes, if Imelda married him, she would always be the second wife, a concubine. The Romualdezes, staunch Catholics, as the rest of the Philippines at that time, was against the concept of divorce. Her cousin Loreto Romualdez Ramos asked her to distance herself from Nakpil and his invitations to their Batangas farm family picnics. Shortly thereafter, Marcos's father Vicente Orestes Romualdez found out and "talked some sense" to his daughter. All of them urged Imelda to call off the visits from Nakpil, whom they would not accept into their family as he already had a legal impediment. (During the Marcos years, Ariston's sister Edith Nakpil Rabat would be a Blue Lady of Marcos)

In 1953, Marcos met then-Ilocos Norte Congressman Ferdinand E. Marcos. After a whirlwind eleven day courtship in Baguio during Holy Week, and with much prodding from Danieling (He and Ferdinand Marcos were both sitting congressmen at that time), Eduardo and his wife, Conchita Romualdez (not to be confused with Imelda's youngest sister, Conchita Romualdez Yap), they were married in May of that year at the San Miguel Pro-Cathedral on General Solano street, San Miguel, Manila. This was the same church where her mother Remedios T. Romualdez was wed and interred in 1938, fifteen years earlier. President Ramon Magsaysay was principal sponsor (he would also be the wedding sponsor to Benigno Aquino Jr and his wife Corazon in that same year). President Magsaysay, a Nacionalista party member, allowed then Congressman Ferdinand Marcos to hold his wedding reception in the Malacanang Gardens primarily because of the Romualdezes, who have always identified with the Nacionalista party.^[6] They have four children: Maria Imelda "Imee" Marcos, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., Irene Marcos, and Aimee Marcos, who was adopted from within the Romualdezes.

In 1960, her father reluctantly left his beautiful Leyte to be with Imelda. He stayed with his eldest child from his second marriage in the Marcos house in San Juan. Imelda, who by then was now head of their branch of the Romualdezes, took great effort to end any hard feelings between her and her half siblings. Half sister Lourdes Romualdez Caguiat left the United States and her husband Emilio to care for Vicente Orestes. The latter died there in San Juan. Distraught, Imelda refused for her father's body to be prepared elsewhere. Vicente Orestes Romualdez was embalmed in the San Juan home. Pregnant with daughter Maria Victoria Irene Marcos, she cried so hard during the burial that Marcos almost fell into the grave.

Between then and 1965, Marcos was constantly featured in many magazine covers. She travelled around the entire country to get to know each and every politician that could help her husband Ferdinand win the presidency one day. She learned how to sleep while sitting upright with her elaborate coiffure intact; she sang to the audiences; she was baptismal and wedding sponsor to all; she was the eyes and ears of her husband. Her determination was unbelievably boundless, even when most among the wives of the Senators looked down upon her, such as Lourdes "Lily" Padilla (née De las Alas), the young wife of Senator Ambrosio Padilla and also a sister of the deceased Natividad or "Nene", the first wife of Ramon Cojuangco (Ramon would later marry Imelda Ongsiako Cojuangco who would be a constant friend and Blue Lady of Marcos). Her very few friends during this phase were her neighbors in San Juan and Elvira Manahan, also a senator's wife.

In 1966, Ferdinand Marcos became the 10th President of the Philippines. Together with Imelda, he would rule the Philippines from September 21, 1972 up to his removal in February 1986 in the famous People Power Revolution when he fled the Philippines.

First Lady of the Philippines (1965–1986)[link]

In December 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos became the 10th Philippine President of the Philippines. She was featured in countless magazines locally as well as abroad. And in 1969, Ferdinand Marcos became the first Philippine president to be re-elected a second time amidst charges of vote buying and election fraud.

On September 23, 1972, Marcos declared martial law to preserve his hold on power. It was during the martial law period that he abolished the Philippines' 1935 constitution and established a parliamentary system (Batasang Pambansa or National Assembly) composed mainly of his own political appointees. It was during this period that Imelda Marcos assumed a more public and powerful role in the government. She was appointed by her husband to various positions in the government, such as: Governor of Metropolitan Manila, Minister of Human Settlement, and Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary. On December 7, 1972, an assailant, Carlito Dimahilig, tried to stab her to death with a bolo knife during an award ceremony broadcast live on television. Critics claimed the assassination attempt was staged.^{[citation needed]} The assailant was shot to death by security police and the wounds on Marcos' hands and arms required 75 stitches.^[7] In 1978, she was elected as member of the 165-member Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly) representing the National Capital Region.

As a Special Envoy, Imelda toured China, the Soviet Union, and the Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe (Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, etc.), the Middle East, Libya, then ruled by strongman Muammar Gaddafi, the non-Soviet dominated communist state of Yugoslavia, and Cuba. To justify the multi-million expenditure of traveling with a large diplomatic entourage using private jets, she would later claim diplomatic successes that included securing of a cheap supply of oil from China and Libya, and in the signing of the Tripoli Agreement.

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos in 1979

Imelda's extravagant lifestyle reportedly included five-million-dollar shopping tours in New York, Rome and Copenhagen in 1983, and sending a plane to pick up Australian white sand for a new beach resort. She purchased a number of properties in Manhattan in the 1980s, including the $51-million Crown Building, the Woolworth Building (40 Wall Street) and the $60-million Herald Centre; she declined to purchase the Empire State Building for $750m as she considered it "too ostentatious." Her New York real estate was later seized and sold, along with much of her jewels and most of her 175 piece art collection, which included works by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Canaletto. She responded to criticisms of her extravagance by claiming that it was her "duty" to be "some kind of light, a star to give [the poor] guidelines."^[8]

She also orchestrated lavish public events using millions of dollars in public funds to extol her husband's regime and bolster her public image. Imelda secured the Miss Universe 1974 pageant for Manila, which necessitated the construction and completion of the 10,000-seat Folk Arts Theater in less than three months. Marcos organized the Kasaysayan ng Lahi, an extravagant festival parade showcasing the history of the Philippines.^[9][10] She initiated social programs such as the Green Revolution, a program that, although it did not address hunger and the core problem of agricultural land reform (most Filipino farmers were tenant farmers and did not own their land), encouraged Filipinos to plant vegetables and fruits in their gardens. Other short-lived social programs included a national family-planning program to reduce the country's population growth.^[11]

On the other hand, institutions such as Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Institute of the Philippines, Nayong Pilipino; Philippine International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, Coconut Palace, and the Manila Film Center, built in 1982 to host hers short-lived international film festival are all Marcos' brainchildren.

On 1981, martial law was lifted and, in the same year, Marcos was re-elected as the president of the country.

When Marcos began to suffer from lupus erythematosus in the 1980s, it was said that Imelda was acting in many ways, as the de facto president of the Philippines. There was also speculation at that time that if Marcos were to die due to his grave illness, Imelda and her husband's trusted military officer, General Fabian Ver, then the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, would seize power. After the assassination of opposition leader and Marcos' chief critic, former senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. on the tarmac of then Manila International Airport on 1983, Imelda and Ver (aside from Marcos) would be also accused of ordering his assassination. In fact, Imelda was summoned to the investigation of the Agrava Commission, an independent fact-finding panel formed by her husband to investigate this assassination. Meanwhile, the First Lady denied the allegation against her.

On the 1986 snap presidential elections, she supported Marcos in his bid to be re-elected for the presidency against Corazon Aquino, a neophyte opposition leader and the widow of Aquino.

In the same year, Marcos would be ousted in a non-violent People Power revolt, which was triggered by the defection of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then AFP vice-chief of staff Lt. General Fidel Ramos.

Exile (1986–1991)[link]

Marcos in 2006

On February 25, 1986, Ferdinand Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii (via Guam) after his regime was toppled by the four-day People Power Revolution in EDSA. Also, the place where her shoes and jewelry were being kept was destroyed, the contents stolen^{[citation needed]}. Even a painting of Imelda was destroyed outside the Malacanang. Marcos was succeeded by Corazon C. Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino, Jr., Marcos' foremost political opponent, who was assassinated at the Manila International Airport during his return to the Philippines in 1983 after years of political exile. It was widely assumed that Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were involved in the assassination, which ignited the People Power Revolution of 1986. Upon assuming office, President Aquino issued Executive Order No. 1, creating the Presidential Commission on Good Government to investigate and sequester the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. President Aquino abolished the Batasang Pambansa (Philippine Parliament) and the Ministry of Human Settlements, both creations of Marcos, and established in 1987 a modified version of the Philippines' original 1935 constitution, which had been abolished in 1972 by Marcos. After the Marcos family fled Malacañang Palace, Marcos was found to have left behind 15 mink coats, 508 gowns, 1,000 handbags^[12] and 1,060 pairs of shoes. The exact number of shoes varies between accounts; estimates of up to 3000 pairs of shoes have been published,^[13] but Time later reported that the final tally was 1,060.^[14] In 1992, Marcos claimed that her fortune came from Yamashita's Gold.^[15] In February 2006, Marcos insisted that her husband had acquired his wealth legitimately as a gold trader. By the late 1950s, she claimed, he had amassed a personal fortune 7,500 tons of gold, and after gold prices climbed in the 1970s, the Marcos family was worth about $35 billion.^[8] However, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has no record of the Marcos family declaring or paying taxes on these assets^{[citation needed]}, and the source of their wealth remains open to investigation.^[8]

Ousted President Marcos died in exile on September 28, 1989. President Aquino refused to permit the repatriation of his remains for national-security reasons.^[16] The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the government in Marcos vs. Manglapus.^[17] In 1991, Marcos was allowed to return home.

Marcos was the first wife of a foreign head of state to stand trial in an American court. In 1990, she was acquitted of racketeering and fraud charges, alongside co-defendant Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian former billionaire and arms dealer. The "theatrical" trial involved many celebrities: Marcos and Khashoggi were represented by trial lawyer Gerry Spence; Marcos' $5-million-dollar bail was posted by tobacco heiress, Doris Duke,who befriended her while they both lived in Hawaii; and actor George Hamilton was a star witness for the defense.^[18]

Post-exile (1991–present)[link]

1992 presidential campaign and 1995 congressional bid[link]

In 1992, Marcos ran and finished fifth in the seven-way presidential race. Her votes were split between her, with 2,338,294 votes, and Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., a close advisor and friend of Ferdinand Marcos, with 4,116,376 votes. Fidel Ramos, the candidate endorsed by Corazon Aquino, received 5.3 million and won the election.^[19]

In 1995, she was elected Congresswoman of Leyte, representing the first district of her home province. Marcos overwhelmingly defeated then Rep. Cirilo Montejo by a landslide victory (70,471 votes against Montejo's 36,833 votes). Initially, a disqualification case was filed against her but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of her.

1998 presidential campaign[link]

In 1998, she made another bid for the presidency but later backed out of the race to support the candidacy of then Vice President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. Marcos finished 9th among 11 candidates vying for the Philippine government's top post. During the administration of her friend and ally, President Joseph Estrada, many of the cases filed by the Aquino government were dismissed by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, owing to technicalities (lapse of the prescriptive period for filing cases). On June 29, 1998, the Sandiganbayan (Philippine anti-corruption court) convicted the Former First Lady of the charge that she had entered into an agreement disadvantageous to the government. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the decision and cited Sandiganbayan Justice Francis Gatchitorena for his alleged bias against Mrs. Marcos.^[20]

2010 congressional bid[link]

Marcos in 2008

She ran once again for the House this time for second district of Ilocos Norte in the 2010 elections, to replace her son, incumbent Rep. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who is running for Senator under the Nacionalista Party. She won over her nearest rival Mariano Nalupta, Jr. by 80% to 20%.

Corruption trials[link]

On September 21, 2007, the Sandiganbayan's 5th Division chair Associate Justice Ma. Cristina Cortez-Estrada granted Marcos' motion for daily trial on her 10 pending graft cases (beginning January 21, 2008, as requested by defense lawyers on September 17 alleging, inter alia, illnesses).^[21]

On March 10, 2008 Judge Silvino Pampilo (Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 26) acquitted Marcos of 32 counts of dollar salting (involving £430m in Swiss bank accounts) due to reasonable doubt. Marcos stated: "First of all, I am so happy and I thank the Lord that the 32 cases have been dismissed by the regional court here in Manila. This will subtract from the 901 cases that were filed against the Marcoses." Her lawyer Robert Sison said that she has 10 pending criminal cases remaining before the Sandiganbayan Courts.^[22][23]

On September 14, 2010, the Sandiganbayan's Fifth Division has ordered Imelda Marcos to return 12 million pesos ($280,000) in government funds secretly taken out by her late husband from the National Food Authority 27 years ago.^[24][25]

In popular culture[link]

• In the 90210 third season episode All About A Boy, Naomi Clark claimed to own more shoes than Imelda Marcos and Kimora Lee Simmons combined.^[26]
• In the RuPaul's Drag Race third season episode The Snatch Game, drag queen Manila Luzon impersonated Imelda Marcos in the episode's main challenge.
• In the Suburgatory season 1 episode, Hear No Evil; George Altman asks his daughter Tessa if she was sure it was Dallas Royce she was quoting about fingernails, and not Imelda Marcos.
• In 2010, British producer Fatboy Slim and American musician David Byrne created a concept album called "Here Lies Love" which centers around the life of Imelda Marcos leading up to her family's exile from the Philippines. The album featured many guest female singers like Cyndi Lauper, Florence Welch and Santigold, alternately playing the roles of Marcos and her servant, Estrella Cumpas, in each its tracks.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Imelda, Steel butterfly of the Philippines, Katherine Ellison, author, McGrawHill, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-07-019335-5
• Imelda Romualdez Marcos, Kerima Polotan
• Cronies and Enemies: the Current Philippine Scene, Belinda Aquino, editor, University of Hawaii, 1982
• Waltzing with a Dictator: the Marcoses and the Making of American Policy, Raymond Bonner, author, Times Books, New York, 1987, ISBN 0-8129-1326-4
• Imelda: a Story of the Philippines, Beatriz Francia, author
• Presidential Plunder: the Quest for Marcos Ill-Gotten Wealth, Jovito Salonga, author, Regina Publishing Company, Manila, 2001
• Inside the Palace: The Rise and Fall of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, Beth Day Romulo, author, Putnam Publishing Group, New York, 1987, ISBN 0-399-13253-8
• The Marcos Dynasty, Sterling Seagrave, author, Harper & Row, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-06-015815-8
• The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos, Primitivo Mijares, author, Union Square Publishing, ISBN 1-141-12147-6
• Imelda Marcos Quotes BrainyQuote

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Imelda Marcos

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Imelda Marcos

• Photos Imelda Marcos jewelry-Roumeloites collection
• Marcos Presidential Center
• Imelda's crown jewels to go under the hammer BBC News, May 13, 2003
• A Showcase of Extravagance: Imelda Marcos
• The wit and wisdom of Imelda Marcos The Wily Filipino
• "Imelda" – Documentary on Imelda Marcos Independent Lens
• Imelda Marcos arrest ordered CNN.com, October 16, 2001
• Her Greatest Admirer: A documentary about Imelda Marcos reveals an extraordinary capacity for self-delusion TIME, July 5, 2004
• PCGG eye settlement ABS CBN News

v t e Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos 10th President of the Philippines and 10th First Lady of the Philippines Family Josefa Edralin & Mariano Marcos and Remedios Trinidad & Vicente Lopez-Romualdez (parents) · Imee, Bongbong, Irene & Aimee (children) · Pacifico (brother) · Pio Marcos and Quirino Lizardo (relatives) Education University of the Philippines & U.P. College of Law (Ferdinand) · St. Paul's College (Imelda) Political career Pi Gamma Mu · Nacionalista Party · 2nd district of Ilocos Norte (1949-1959) · President of the Senate of the Philippines · Kilusang Bagong Lipunan Presidency (1965–1986) Vietnam War · Communist Party of the Philippines · Insurgency in the Philippines · New People's Army · Moro National Liberation Front · First Quarter Storm · Rolex 12 · 1973 constitution · Miss Universe 1974 · Green Revolution · Assassination of Ninoy Aquino · NAMFREL · People Power Revolution Post-presidency 1st district of Leyte (1995-1998) · Here Lies Love · Operation Big Bird Elections 1949 · 1963 · 1965 · 1967 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1973 (Jan) · 1973 (Jul) · 1975 (KB) · 1975 (SB) · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 (SP) · 1980 (KB) · 1981 (Apr) · 1981 (Jun) · 1982 (B) · 1984 parliamentary · 1984 plebiscite · 1981 · 1986 · 1992 · 1995 Contributions Batasang Pambansa · Coconut Palace · Cultural Center of the Philippines · Heart Center · Lung Center · Manila Film Center · North Luzon Expressway · Philippine International Convention Center Predecessor: Diosdado Macapagal, 9th President of the Philippines Successor: Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines

Ruby Wax
At the 2007 BAFTA awards
Birth name	Ruby Wachs[1]
Born	(1953-04-19) 19 April 1953 (age 59)[2] Evanston, Illinois, USA
Nationality	American
Years active	1970s-present
Genres	Alternative comedy
Spouse	Ed Bye

Ruby Wax (born 19 April 1953) is an American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.

Early life[link]

Wax was born Ruby Wachs, the daughter of Jewish parents who left Austria in 1939 because of the Nazi threat.^[3] Her father became wealthy as a sausage manufacturer^[4] and her mother qualified as an accountant. Wax was raised in Evanston, Illinois in the 1950s and 60s. Wax elected to major in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Early career[link]

Wax came to the UK and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She began her acting career as a straight actress at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, where she began a long-standing writing and directing partnership with Alan Rickman, who later was to direct most of her stage comedy shows.^[5] In 1978, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, working alongside Juliet Stevenson in Measure for Measure, as Jaquenetta opposite Michael Hordern in Love's Labours Lost, replacing Zoë Wanamaker as Jane in The Way of the World^[5] and appearing in the Howard Brenton three-hander Sore Throats.^[6] While at the RSC, Wax also met and befriended Ian Charleson, and later contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute.^[7]

Wax made a one-off appearance in a 1980 episode of The Professionals, Bloodsports, playing Lonnie, an American student. In 1981, she appeared in the follow up to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, called Shock Treatment. In the film, Wax portrays Betty Hapschatt, who got married to Ralph Hapschatt in the first film. Wax also appeared briefly as a secretary in Omen III: The Final Conflict.

Comedic Work[link]

Her popularity in terms of comedy came from her interviewing technique: she was always forthright, brash and loud, conforming to the British stereotype of an American. Her physical appearance matched this image, with red hair and blood-red lipstick. She cemented this trademark image in 1985, when she starred as loud-mouthed American actress Shelley DuPont on the British sitcom Girls On Top. According to a BBC Arena documentary narrated by Dawn French it was Wax's role as backstage interviewer at Amnesty International's 1987 benefit show The Secret Policeman's Third Ball that eventually boosted her career to a higher level.^{[citation needed]}

Many of her early television shows involved her being put into a situation where she simply met and interviewed people, mostly extraordinary members of the public (including a memorable visit to pre-breakup Soviet Russia). In 1987, Wax was given her own comedy chat show Don't Miss Wax, on Channel 4. She was also hired as a radio presenter by The Superstation, an overnight sustaining service for commercial radio in the UK.^[8]

In December 1989, she appeared in the Red Dwarf episode "Timeslides" as an American reporter.

Wax began work with the BBC in 1991 in a variety of television documentaries and interview programs, similar in tone to her 1980s work on the UK's Channel 4. Programs on alternative health and primetime interviews culminated in the mid 1990s with Wax's 1996 series Ruby Wax Meets, for the BBC in which she interviewed public figures such as Imelda Marcos and Pamela Anderson.^[9] Wax was nominated in 1996 for a BAFTA award for her interview with Sarah, Duchess of York, an interview which attracted an audience of over 14 million viewers.^[10]

She also made several guest appearances in Absolutely Fabulous, a programme on which she served as script editor throughout the run of the series.^[11]

From November 2001 to June 2002 Wax presented a TV quiz show broadcast on BBC1 called The Waiting Game.^[9] Her final BBC interview series aired in 2003.

Writing, Academia, Corporate Training and Returns to Television and Stage[link]

In 2002 Wax authored her memoir, How Do You Want Me? which became a bestseller according to The Sunday Times bestseller list.

In March 2003, Wax was one of the celebrity contestants on Comic Relief does Fame Academy, which was a spin-off from the BBC's Fame Academy with all proceeds donated to Comic Relief. Although not a singer, Wax made it to the final, taking runner-up position to Will Mellor.^[12]

Wax appeared in a supporting role opposite Olivia Williams and Andie MacDowell in the 2005 film Tara Road. In September and October 2005, she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Sale of the Century before getting knocked out. In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief event Only Fools On Horses. She presented Cirque de Celebrité on Sky One in 2006. Wax also appeared in an episode of Jackass where she was participating in the Gumball 3000. While the race was stopped at the Latvian border she was wrestled by Jackass Personality Chris Pontius.

In March 2009, Wax returned to Comic Relief to take part in Comic Relief Does The Apprentice. Wax appeared in the 2010 Comic Relief in Comic Relief Does Master Chef in which Wax prepared an appetizer for the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

On April 1, 2009, Ruby Wax Goes Dutch premiered on Dutch television network Net5.

Wax's 2010 standup show Losing It deals with her experience of depression.^[13][14] The show played in London at The Duchess Theater in 2011. Wax founded a mental health website in 2011 in response to the audience reaction from her theater show.^[15]

In addition, Wax teaches business communication in both the public and private sector, clients include Deutsche Bank, the UK Home Office and Skype^[16] .

Currently, Wax is attending Kellogg College at Oxford University to obtain a Master's Degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy, having previously obtained a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and counselling from Regents College in London.^[17]

Controversies[link]

Popetown[link]

In 2004, the BBC planned to show a cartoon series called Popetown, which poked fun at the Roman Catholic Church. In it, Wax portrayed the Pope as a spoiled child. After protests, the BBC chose not to show the series.^[18]

Slander case[link]

In February 2004, Irish broadcaster Patricia Danaher reached an out-of-court settlement with Wax, who had initially claimed that Danaher had made racist remarks about her Jewish origins in an interview for Ulster TV. Wax's legal team apologised and announced that there had been a financial settlement.^[19]

Opposition to disabled-access ramp[link]

In November 2005, Wax was criticised by the Daily Mail columnist Richard Kay for opposing a proposed disabled-access ramp for the nearby Couper Collection charitable art gallery. The UK Sunday newspaper The Observer also reported the controversy,^[20] as did the act "I, Ludicrous" in "The Ruby Wax Song", from their Dirty Washing 2008 EP.

Personal life[link]

Wax is married to television producer and director Ed Bye, who produces some of the series of her long-time friends and working partners, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Wax and Bye have three children together: one son, Max (b. 1988), and two daughters, Madeleine (b. 1990) and Marina (b. 1993).^[21]

Interview Programs & Documentaries[link]

• Don't Miss Wax, Channel 4, 1987-1988
• Miami Memoirs, Channel 4, 1988
• East Meets Wax, Channel 4, 1988
• Class of '69, Channel 4 1989
• Wax on Wheels, Channel 4, 1988-1989
• Ruby Takes a Trip, BBC, 1991
• The Full Wax, BBC, 1991–1993
• Ruby Wax Meets..., BBC, 1994–1998
• Ruby's American Pie, BBC, 1999
• Ruby Gets Streetwise, BBC, 2000
• Ruby, BBC 1997-2002
• Ruby Wax With..., BBC, 2003

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile from her agent's page
• Ruby Wax at the Internet Movie Database
• Wax in the RSC performance database
• Ruby's Room, Ruby Wax's web show on BBC Headroom, where she regularly interviewed people with different mental health conditions.
• Ruby Wax discussion her choice of a great life on the BBC Radio 4 program Great Lives, first broadcast on 1 May 2009.

Gualtiero Jacopetti (4 September 1919 – 17 August 2011) was an Italian director of documentary films.

He was born in Barga, in northern Tuscany. With Paolo Cavara and Franco Prosperi is the originator of Mondo films, also called shockumentaries.^[1]

Filmography (director)[link]

• Mondo Cane, 1962
• La donna nel mondo (Women of the World), 1963
• Mondo Cane 2, 1963
• Africa Addio (Africa Blood and Guts or Farewell Africa), 1966
• Addio zio Tom (Goodbye Uncle Tom), 1971
• Mondo candido, 1975
• Fangio: Una vita a 300 all'ora 1987

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gualtiero Jacopetti at the Internet Movie Database

This article about an Italian film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mohammad Reza Shah
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1973
Shahanshah and Aryamehr of Iran
Reign	26 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 (&1000000000000003700000037 years, &10000000000000138000000138 days)
Coronation	26 October 1967(1967-10-26) (aged 48)
Predecessor	Rezā Shāh
Successor	Monarchy exiled; Islamic republic declared
Head of House of Pahlavi
Reign	26 September 1941 – 27 July 1980 (&1000000000000003800000038 years, &10000000000000305000000305 days)
Predecessor	Reza Shah
Successor	Farah Pahlavi
Spouse	Fawzia of Egypt (m.1939 ; div.1948) Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari (m.1951 ; div.1958) Farah Diba (m.1959 ; wil.1980)
Issue
Princess Shahnaz Crown Prince Reza Princess Farahnaz Prince Ali-Reza Princess Leila
Full name
English: Mohammad Reza Persian: محمد رضا‎
House	Pahlavi
Father	Reza Shah
Mother	Tadj ol-Molouk
Born	(1919-10-26)26 October 1919 Tehran, Persia
Died	27 July 1980(1980-07-27) (aged 60) Cairo, Egypt
Burial	Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Cairo, Egypt
Signature
Religion	Shia Islam

This article contains Persian text, written from right to left with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters written left-to-right, instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Persian script.

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavī (Persian: محمدرضاشاه پهلوی, [mohæmˈmæd reˈzɒː ˈʃɒːhe pæhlæˈviː]; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last Shah of Iran. He ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979. He was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi of the Iranian monarchy. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi held several titles: His Imperial Majesty, Shahanshah (King of Kings,^[1] Emperor), Aryamehr (Light of the Aryans) and Bozorg Arteshtārān (Head of the Warriors,^[2] Persian: بزرگ ارتشتاران).

Mohammad Reza came to power during World War II after an Anglo-Soviet invasion forced the abdication of his father Reza Shah. During his reign, the Iranian oil industry was nationalized under Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and Iran marked the anniversary of 2,500 years of continuous monarchy since the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. The Shah's White Revolution, a series of economic and social reforms intended to transform Iran into a global power, succeeded in modernizing the nation, nationalizing many natural resources, and extending suffrage to women.

A secular Muslim himself, Mohammad Reza gradually lost support from the Shi'a clergy of Iran, particularly due to his strong policy of modernization, secularization, conflict with the traditional class of merchants known as bazaari, and recognition of Israel. Various additional controversial policies were enacted, including the banning of the communist Tudeh Party, and a general suppression of political dissent by Iran's intelligence agency, SAVAK. According to official statistics, Iran had as many as 2,200 political prisoners in 1978, a number which multiplied rapidly as a result of the revolution.^[3]

Several other factors contributed to strong opposition to the Shah among certain groups within Iran, the most notable of which were the U.S. and UK backed coup d'état against Mosaddegh in 1953, clashes with Islamists, and increased communist activity. By 1979, political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on 16 January, forced the Shah to leave Iran. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic. Facing likely execution should he return to Iran, he died in exile in Egypt, whose President, Anwar Sadat, had granted him asylum.

Early life[link]

Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (first from left) at Le Rosey with Mehrpour Teymourtash (second from right) in Switzerland.

Born in Tehran to Reza Pahlavi and his second wife, Tadj ol-Molouk, Mohammad Reza was the eldest son of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the third of his eleven children. He was born with a twin sister, Ashraf Pahlavi. However, Mohammad Reza, Ashraf, Ali Reza, and their older half-sister, Fatemeh, were born as non-royals, as their father did not become Shah until 1925. Nevertheless, Reza Shah was always convinced that his sudden quirk of good fortune had commenced in 1919 with the birth of his son who was dubbed khoshghadam (bird of good omen)^[4]

By the time the Mohammad Reza Shah turned 11, his father deferred to the recommendation of Abdolhossein Teymourtash to dispatch his son to Institut Le Rosey, a Swiss boarding school for further studies. He would be the first Iranian prince in line for the throne to be sent abroad to attain a foreign education and remained there for the next four years before returning to obtain his high school diploma in Iran in 1936. After returning to the country, the Crown Prince was registered at the local military academy in Tehran where he remained enrolled until 1938.

Early reign[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Deposition of his father[link]

During World War II, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate in favor of his son.

In the midst of World War II in 1941, Nazi Germany began Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union, breaking the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This had a major impact on Iran, which had declared neutrality in the conflict.

That year British and Soviet forces violated Iranian neutrality and occupied Iran via military invasion, forcing Reza Shah to abdicate. Prince Mohammad Reza replaced him on the throne on 16 September 1941. Subsequent to his succession as Shah, Iran became a major conduit for British and, later, American aid to the USSR during the war. This massive supply effort became known as the Persian Corridor, an involvement that would continue to grow until the successful revolution against the Iranian monarchy in 1979.

Much of the credit for orchestrating a smooth transition from Reza Shah to his son was due to the efforts of Mohammad Ali Foroughi. Suffering from Angina pectoris, a frail Foroughi was summoned to the Palace and appointed Prime Minister when Reza Shah feared the end of the Pahlavi dynasty once the Allies invaded Iran in 1941. When Reza Shah sought his assistance to ensure that the Allies would not put an end to the Pahlavi dynasty, Foroughi put aside his adverse personal sentiments for having been politically sidelined since 1935. The Crown Prince confided in amazement to the British Minister that Foroughi “hardly expected any son of Reza Shah to be a civilized human being”, but Foroughi successfully derailed thoughts by the Allies to undertake a more drastic change in the political infrastructure of Iran.^{[citation needed]}

A general amnesty was issued two days after Mohammad Reza Shah's accession to the throne on September 19, 1941. All political personalities who had suffered disgrace during his father’s reign were rehabilitated, and the forced unveiling policy inaugurated by his father in 1935 was overturned. Despite the young Shah's enlightened decisions, the British Minister in Tehran reported to London that "the young Shah received a fairly spontaneous welcome on his first public experience, possibly rather [due] to relief at the disappearance of his father than to public affection for himself.”

Despite his public professions of admiration in later years, the young Shah had serious misgivings about not only the coarse and roughshod political means adopted by his father, but also his unsophisticated approach to the affairs of the state.^{[citation needed]} The young Shah possessed a decidedly more refined temperament, and among the unsavory developments that “would haunt him when he was king” were the fates visited on Teymourtash; the dismissal of Foroughi by the mid-1930s; and Ali Akbar Davar’s decision to commit suicide in 1937.^[5] An even more significant decision that cast a long shadow was the disastrous and one-sided agreement his father had negotiated with APOC in 1933, one which compromised the country's ability to receive more favourable returns from oil extracted from the country.

Oil nationalization and the 1953 coup[link]

By the early 1950s, the political crisis brewing in Iran commanded the attention of British and American policy leaders. In 1951, Dr. Mosaddegh was appointed Prime Minister and committed to nationalizing the Iranian petroleum industry controlled by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Under the leadership of the democratically elected nationalist movement of Dr. Mohammed Mosaddeq, the Iranian parliament unanimously voted to nationalize the oil industry – thus shutting out the immensely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which was a pillar of Britain's economy and provided it political clout in the region.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with US President Truman in Washington, c. 18 November 1949

At the start of the confrontation, American political sympathy was forthcoming from the Truman Administration. In particular, Mossadegh was buoyed by the advice and counsel he was receiving from American Ambassador in Tehran, Henry F. Grady. However, eventually American decision-makers lost their patience, and by the time a Republican Administration came to office fears that communists were poised to overthrow the government became an all consuming concern (these concerns were later dismissed as "paranoid" in retrospective commentary on the coup from US government officials). Shortly prior to the 1952 presidential election in the US, the British government invited CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. to London to propose collaboration on a secret plan, code-named "Operation Ajax", to force Mosaddegh from office.^[6] This would be the first of three "regime change" operations led by Allen Dulles (the other two being the successful CIA-instigated 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba).

Under the direction of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., a senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and grandson of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the American CIA and British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) funded and led a covert operation to depose Mosaddegh with the help of military forces loyal to the Shah. Referred to as Operation Ajax.^[7] The plot hinged on orders signed by the Shah to dismiss Mosaddegh as prime minister and replace him with General Fazlollah Zahedi – a choice agreed on by the British and Americans.

Despite the high-level coordination and planning, the coup initially failed, causing the Shah to flee to Baghdad, then Rome. After a brief exile in Italy, the Shah returned to Iran, this time through a successful second attempt at a coup. A deposed Mosaddegh was arrested and tried. The King intervened and commuted the sentence to one and a half years. Zahedi was installed to succeed Mosaddegh.^[8]

Before the first attempted coup, the American Embassy in Tehran reported that Mosaddegh's popular support remained robust. The Prime Minister requested direct control of the army from the Majlis. Given the situation, alongside the strong personal support of Conservative leader Anthony Eden and Prime Minister Winston Churchill for covert action, the American government gave the go-ahead to a committee, attended by the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles, Kermit Roosevelt, Henderson, and Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson. Kermit Roosevelt returned to Iran on 13 July 1953, and again on 1 August 1953, in his first meeting with the Shah. A car picked him up at midnight and drove him to the palace. He lay down on the seat and covered himself with a blanket as guards waved his driver through the gates. The Shah got into the car and Roosevelt explained the mission. The CIA provided $1 million in Iranian currency, which Roosevelt had stored in a large safe – a bulky cache, given the exchange rate at the time of 1,000 rial to 15 dollars.^[9]

The Communists staged massive demonstrations to hijack Mosaddegh’s initiatives. The United States had announced its total lack of confidence in him; his followers were drifting into indifference. On 16 August 1953, the right wing of the Army reacted. Armed with an order by the Shah, it appointed General Fazlollah Zahedi as prime minister. A coalition of mobs and retired officers close to the Palace attempted what could be described as a coup d’état. They failed dismally and the Shah fled the country in humiliating haste. Even Ettelaat, the nation’s largest daily newspaper, and its pro-Shah publisher, Abbas Masudi, published negative commentaries on him.^[10]

During the following two days, the Communists turned against Mosaddegh. Opposition against him grew tremendously. They roamed Tehran raising red flags and pulling down statues of Reza Shah. This frightened the conservative clerics like Kashani and National Front leaders like Makki, who sided with the Shah. On 18 August 1953, Mosaddegh hit back. Tudeh Partisans were clubbed and dispersed.^[11]

Tudeh had no choice but to accept defeat. In the meantime, according to the CIA plot, Zahedi appealed to the military, and claimed to be the legitimate prime minister and charged Mosaddegh with staging a coup by ignoring the Shah’s decree. Zahedi’s son Ardeshir acted as the contact between the CIA and his father. On 19 August 1953, pro-Shah partisans – organized with $100,000 in CIA funds – finally appeared and marched out of south Tehran into the city center, where others joined in. Gangs with clubs, knives, and rocks controlled the streets, overturning Tudeh trucks and beating up anti-Shah activists. As Roosevelt was congratulating Zahedi in the basement of his hiding place, the new Prime Minister’s mobs burst in and carried him upstairs on their shoulders. That evening, Henderson suggested to Ardashir that Mosaddegh not be harmed. Roosevelt gave Zahedi US$900,000 left from Operation Ajax funds.

To many, U.S. actions further solidified sentiments that the West was a meddlesome influence in Iranian politics. In the year 2000, reflecting on this notion, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright stated:

"In 1953 the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh. The Eisenhower Administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons; but the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs."^[12]

The Shah returned to power, but never extended the elite status of the court to the technocrats and intellectuals who emerged from Iranian and Western universities. Indeed, his system irritated the new classes, for they were barred from partaking in real power.^[13]

The Shah was a strong supporter and patron of the Iran Scout Organization. A stamp showing the Shah in Scout's uniform was issued in 1956.^[14] In 1960 during a state visit the Shah was awarded the highest award of Pfadfinder Österreichs (Silberner Steinbock am rot-weiß-rotten Band), the National Scout Organisation of Austria.^[15]

Assassination attempts[link]

The Shah was the target of at least two unsuccessful assassination attempts. On 4 February 1949, the Shah attended an annual ceremony to commemorate the founding of Tehran University.^[16] At the ceremony, Fakhr-Arai fired five shots at the Shah at a range of ten feet. Only one of the shots hit the Shah and his cheek was grazed. Fakhr-Arai was instantly shot by nearby officers. After an investigation, it was determined that Fakhr-Arai was a member of the Tudeh Party,^[17] which was subsequently banned.^[18] However, there is evidence that the would-be assassin was not a Tudeh member but a religious fundamentalist member of Fada'iyan-e Islam.^[19][20] The Tudeh was nonetheless blamed and persecuted.^{[citation needed]}

The second attempt on the Shah's life occurred on 10 April 1965.^[21] A soldier shot his way through the Marble Palace. The assassin was killed before he reached the Shah's quarters. Two civilian guards died protecting the Shah.

According to Vladimir Kuzichkin – a former KGB officer who defected to the SIS – the Shah was also allegedly targeted by the Soviet Union, who tried to use a TV remote control to detonate a bomb-laden Volkswagen Beetle. The TV remote failed to function.^[22] A high-ranking Romanian defector Ion Mihai Pacepa also supported this claim, asserting that he had been the target of various assassination attempts by Soviet agents for many years.

Later years[link]

Foreign relations[link]

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah, departing Andrews Air Force Base after a visit to the United States on 16 November 1977

The Shah supported the Yemeni royalists against republican forces in the Yemen Civil War (1962–70) and assisted the sultan of Oman in putting down a rebellion in Dhofar (1971). Concerning the fate of Bahrain (which Britain had controlled since the 19th century, but which Iran claimed as its own territory) and three small Persian Gulf islands, the Shah negotiated an agreement with the British, which, by means of a public consensus, ultimately led to the independence of Bahrain (against the wishes of Iranian nationalists). In return, Iran took full control of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa in the Strait of Hormuz, three strategically sensitive islands which were claimed by the United Arab Emirates.

Shah and Empress Farah Pahlavi meeting with General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow in 1970

During this period, the Shah maintained cordial relations with the Persian Gulf states and established close diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. Relations with Iraq, however, were often difficult due to political instability in the latter country. The Shah was distrustful of both the Socialist government of Abd al-Karim Qasim and the Arab nationalist Baath party. In April 1969, Mohammad Reza abrogated the 1937 Iranian-Iraqi treaty over control of the Shatt al-Arab, and as such, Iran ceased paying tolls to Iraq when its ships used the Shatt al-Arab.^[23] The Shah justified his move by arguing that almost all river borders all over the world ran along the thalweg (deep channel mark), and by claiming that because most of the ships that used the Shatt al-Arab were Iranian, the 1937 treaty was unfair to Iran.^[24] Iraq threatened war over the Iranian move, but when on 24 April 1969 an Iranian tanker escorted by Iranian warships sailed down the Shatt al-Arab, Iraq being the militarily weaker state did nothing.^[25] The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975.^[25] He financed Kurdish separatist rebels, and to cover his tracks, armed them with Soviet weapons which Israel had seized from Soviet-backed Arab regimes, and then handed over to Iran at the Shah's behest. The initial operation was a disaster, but the Shah continued attempts to support the rebels and weaken Iraq. Then in 1975, the countries signed the Algiers Accord, which granted Iraq equal navigation rights in the Shatt al-Arab river, while the Shah agreed to end his support for Iraqi Kurdish rebels.^[26]

Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi met Algerian president Houari Boumediène and Iraqi vice president Saddam Hussein in Algiers at 1975 for register 1975 Algiers Agreement

U.S. president Jimmy Carter meeting with the Shah in Tehran in November, 1977

The Shah and Carter

The Shah also maintained close relations with King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and King Hassan II of Morocco.^[27]

On July 1964, Shah Pahlavi, Turkish President Cemal Gürsel and Pakistani President Ayub Khan announced in Istanbul the establishment of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) organization to promote joint transportation and economic projects. It also envisioned Afghanistan's joining some time in the future.

The Shah maintained close relations with Pakistan also. During the Second Indian-Pakistani war of 1965 between Pakistan and India, the Shah provided free fuel to the Pakistani planes, which landed on Iranian soil, refueled and then took flight.

The Shah of Iran was the first Muslim leader to recognize the State of Israel, although when interviewed on CBS 60 Minutes by reporter Mike Wallace, he criticized American Jews for their presumed control over US media and finance.^[28]

Modernization and Evolution of Government[link]

The Shah with President of the United States Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon during a state visit in 1971.

With Iran's great oil wealth, Mohammad Reza Shah became the pre-eminent leader of the Middle East, and self-styled "Guardian" of the Persian Gulf. In 1961 he defended his style of rule, saying "when Iranians learn to behave like Swedes, I will behave like the King of Sweden."^[29]

During the last years of his government, the Shah's government became more centralized. In the words of a US Embassy dispatch, “The Shah’s picture is everywhere. The beginning of all film showings in public theaters presents the Shah in various regal poses accompanied by the strains of the National anthem... The monarch also actively extends his influence to all phases of social affairs...there is hardly any activity or vocation which the Shah or members of his family or his closest friends do not have a direct or at least a symbolic involvement. In the past, he had claimed to take a two party-system seriously and declared “If I were a dictator rather than a constitutional monarch, then I might be tempted to sponsor a single dominant party such as Hitler organized”.^[30]

Imperial Standard

By 1975, he abolished the multi-party system of government in favor of a one-party state under the Rastakhiz (Resurrection) Party. The Shah’s own words on its justification was; “We must straighten out Iranians’ ranks. To do so, we divide them into two categories: those who believe in Monarchy, the constitution and the Six Bahman Revolution and those who don’t.... A person who does not enter the new political party and does not believe in the three cardinal principles will have only two choices. He is either an individual who belongs to an illegal organization, or is related to the outlawed Tudeh Party, or in other words a traitor. Such an individual belongs to an Iranian prison, or if he desires he can leave the country tomorrow, without even paying exit fees; he can go anywhere he likes, because he is not Iranian, he has no nation, and his activities are illegal and punishable according to the law”.^[31] In addition, the Shah had decreed that all Iranian citizens and the few remaining political parties become part of Rastakhiz.^[32]

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, state visit in India, 1970

Achievements[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Shah crowning Empress Farah at their coronation ceremony in 1967.

The Shah made major changes to curb the power of certain ancient elite factions by expropriating large and medium-sized estates for the benefit of more than four million small farmers. In the White Revolution, he took a number of major modernization measures, including extending suffrage to women, in accordance to the Islamic Law, the participation of workers in factories through shares and other measures, the improvement of the educational system through new elementary schools and literacy courses set up in remote villages by the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces. The latter step was called "Sepāh e Dānesh", "Army of Knowledge". As part of the White Revolution, the Armed Forces were engaged in infrastructural and other educational projects throughout the country ("Sepāh e Tarvij va Âbādāni") as well as in health education and promotion ("Sepāh e Behdāsht"). Moreover, he instituted exams for Islamic theologians to become established clerics. As a further step, in the seventies the governmental program of a free of charge nourishment for children at school ("Taghzieh e Rāigān") was implemented. Under the Shah's reign, the national Iranian income showed an unprecedented rise.

In the field of diplomacy, Iran realized and maintained friendly relations with Western and East European countries as well as the state of Israel and China and became, especially through the close friendship with the United States, more and more a hegemonial power in the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East. The suppression of the communist guerilla movement in the region of Dhofar in Oman with the help of the Iranian army after a formal request by Sultan Qaboos was widely regarded in this context. As to infrastructural and technological progress, the Shah continued and developed further the policies introduced by his father. As part of his programs, projects in several technologies, such as steel, telecommunications, petrochemical facilities, power plants, dams and the automobile industry may be named.

In terms of cultural activities, international cooperations were encouraged and organized, such as the Shiraz Arts Festival. Many Iranian students were sent to and supported in foreign, especially Western countries and the Indian subcontinent. The Aryamehr University of Technology was established as a major new academic institution.^[33][34][35]

As part of his various financial support programs in the fields of culture and arts, the Shah, along with King Hussein of Jordan donated an amount to the Chinese Muslim Association for the construction of the Taipei Grand Mosque.^[36]

Criticism of reign and causes of his overthrow[link]

Styles of Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

At the Federation of American Scientists, John Pike writes:

In 1978 the deepening opposition to the Shah erupted in widespread demonstrations and rioting. Recognizing that even this level of violence had failed to crush the rebellion, the Shah abdicated the Peacock Throne and departed Iran on 16 January 1979. Despite decades of pervasive surveillance by SAVAK, working closely with CIA, the extent of public opposition to the Shah, and his sudden departure, came as a considerable surprise to the US intelligence community and national leadership. As late as 28 September 1978 the US Defense Intelligence Agency reported that the Shah "is expected to remain actively in power over the next ten years."^[37]

Explanations for why the Shah was overthrown include that he was beholden to a non-Muslim Western power, (the United States),^[38][39] whose foreign culture was seen as influencing that of Iran. Additional contributing factors included perceptions of oppression, brutality,^[40][41] corruption, and extravagance.^[40][42] Basic functional failures of the regime have also been blamed — economic bottlenecks, shortages and inflation; the regime's over-ambitious economic program;^[43] the failure of its security forces to deal with protest and demonstration;^[44] the overly centralized royal power structure.^[45]

In October 1971, the Shah celebrated the twenty-five-hundredth anniversary of the Iranian monarchy. The New York Times reported that $100 million was spent.^[46] Next to the ancient ruins of Persepolis, the Shah gave orders to build a tent city covering 160 acres (0.65 km²), studded with three huge royal tents and fifty-nine lesser ones arranged in a star-shaped design. French chefs from Maxim’s of Paris prepared breast of peacock for royalty and dignitaries around the world, the buildings were decorated by Maison Jansen (the same firm that helped Jacqueline Kennedy redecorate the White House), the guests ate off Limoges porcelain china and drank from Baccarat crystal glasses. This became a major scandal as the contrast between the dazzling elegance of celebration and the misery of the nearby villages was so dramatic that no one could ignore it. Months before the festivities, university students struck in protest. Indeed, the cost was so sufficiently impressive that the Shah forbade his associates to discuss the actual figures.^[47][48]

However the Shah and the supporters of the Shah argue that the celebrations opened new investments in Iran, improved relationships with the other leaders and nations of the world, and provided greater recognition of Iran. Other actions that are thought to have contributed to his downfall include antagonizing formerly apolitical Iranians — especially merchants of the bazaars — with the creation in 1975 of a single party political monopoly (the Rastakhiz Party), with compulsory membership and dues, and general aggressive interference in the political, economic, and religious concerns of people's lives;^[49] and the 1976 change from an Islamic calendar to an Imperial calendar, marking the birth of Cyrus as the first day, instead of the migration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Overnight, the year changed from 1355 to 2535.^[50]

Some achievements of the Shah — such as broadened education — had unintended consequences. While school attendance rose (by 1966 the school attendance of urban seven to fourteen year olds was estimated at 75.8%), Iran's labor market could not absorb a high number of educated youth. In 1966 high school graduates had "a higher rate of unemployment than did the illiterate,"^[51] and educated unemployed often supported the revolution.

Revolution[link]

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi meeting with members of the U.S. government: Arthur Atherton, William H. Sullivan, Cyrus Vance, President Jimmy Carter, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1977.

The overthrow of the Shah came as a surprise to almost all observers.^[52][53] The first militant anti-Shah demonstrations of a few hundred started in October 1977, after the death of Khomeini's son Mostafa.^[54] A year later strikes were paralyzing the country, and in early December a "total of 6 to 9 million" — more than 10% of the country — marched against the Shah throughout Iran.^[55]

On 16 January 1979, he made a contract with Farboud and left Iran at the behest of Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar (a long time opposition leader himself), who sought to calm the situation.^[56] Spontaneous attacks by members of the public on statues of the Pahlavis followed, and "within hours, almost every sign of the Pahlavi dynasty" was destroyed.^[57] Bakhtiar dissolved SAVAK, freed all political prisoners, and allowed the Ayatollah Khomeini to return to Iran after years in exile. He asked Khomeini to create a Vatican-like state in Qom, promised free elections, and called upon the opposition to help preserve the constitution, proposing a "national unity" government including Khomeini's followers. Khomeini fiercely rejected Bakhtiar's demands and appointed his own interim government, with Mehdi Bazargan as prime minister, stating that "since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed." In February, pro-Khomeini revolutionary guerrilla and rebel soldiers gained the upper hand in street fighting, and the military announced its neutrality. On the evening of 11 February, the dissolution of the monarchy was complete.

Exile and death[link]

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Henry Boniet in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1979

During his second exile, the Shah traveled from country to country seeking what he hoped would be temporary residence. First he flew to Assuan, Egypt, where he received a warm and gracious welcome from President Anwar El-Sadat. He later lived in Morocco as a guest of King Hassan II, as well as in the Bahamas, and in Cuernavaca in Mexico near Mexico City, as a guest of José López Portillo. He suffered from gallstones that would require prompt surgery. He was offered treatment in Switzerland, but insisted on treatment in the United States.

On 22 October 1979, at the request of David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger,^[58] President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah into the United States to undergo surgical treatment at the New York–Weill Cornell Medical Hospital. While in Cornell Medical Center, Shah used the name "David D. Newsom" as his temporary code name, without Newsom's knowledge.

The Shah was taken later by U.S. Air Force jet to Kelly Air Force Base in Texas and from there to Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base.^[59] It was anticipated that his stay in the U.S. would be short; however, surgical complications ensued, which required six weeks of confinement in the hospital before he recovered. His prolonged stay in the U.S. was extremely unpopular with the revolutionary movement in Iran, which still resented the United States' overthrow of Prime Minister Mosaddeq and the years of support for the Shah's rule. The Iranian government demanded his return to Iran, but he stayed in the hospital.^[60]

Tomb of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, located at the Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo

There are claims that this resulted in the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the kidnapping of American diplomats, military personnel, and intelligence officers, which soon became known as the Iran hostage crisis.^[58] According to the Shah's book, Answer to History, in the end the USA never provided the Shah any kind of health care and asked him to leave the country.^[61]

He left the United States on 15 December 1979 and lived for a short time in the Isla Contadora in Panama. The new government in Iran still demanded his and his wife's immediate extradition to Tehran. A short time after the Shah's arrival, an Iranian ambassador was dispatched to the Central American nation carrying a 450-page extradition request. That official appeal greatly alarmed both the Shah and his advisors. Whether the Panamanian government would have complied is a matter of speculation among historians.

After that event, the Shah again sought the support of Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat, who renewed his offer of permanent asylum in Egypt to the ailing monarch. The Shah returned to Egypt in March 1980, where he received urgent medical treatment, including a splenectomy performed by Dr. Michael DeBakey ^[62], but nevertheless died from complications of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma) on 27 July 1980, aged 60. Egyptian President Sadat gave the Shah a state funeral.^[63]

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is buried in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, a mosque of great symbolic importance. The last royal rulers of two monarchies are buried there, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran and King Farouk of Egypt, his former brother-in-law. The tombs lie to the left of the entrance. Years earlier, his father and predecessor, Reza Shah Pahlavi had also initially been buried at the Al Rifa'i Mosque.

Legacy[link]

Iranian newspaper clip from 1968 reads "A quarter of Iran's Nuclear Energy scientists are women", a marked change in women's rights.

In 1969, the Shah sent one of 73 Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages to NASA for the historic first lunar landing.^[64] The message still rests on the lunar surface today. He stated in part, "...we pray the Almighty God to guide mankind towards ever increasing success in the establishment of culture, knowledge and human civilization." The Apollo 11 crew visited the Shah during a world tour.

Shortly after his overthrow, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi wrote an autobiographical memoir Réponse à l'histoire (Answer to History). It was translated from the original French into English, Persian (Pasokh be Tarikh), and other languages. However, by the time of its publication, the Shah had already died. The book is his personal account of his reign and accomplishments, as well as his perspective on issues related to the Iranian Revolution and Western foreign policy toward Iran. The Shah places some of the blame for the wrongdoings of SAVAK and the failures of various democratic and social reforms (particularly through the White Revolution) upon Amir Abbas Hoveyda and his administration.

In the 1990s and the decade following 2000, the Shah's reputation has staged something of a revival, with many Iranians looking back on his era as a time when Iran was more prosperous^[65][66] and the government less oppressive in the political opinion of some people living in Iran.^[67] Journalist Afshin Molavi reports even members of the uneducated poor - traditionally core supporters of the revolution that overthrew the Shah - making remarks such as 'God bless the Shah's soul, the economy was better then;' and finds that "books about the former Shah (even censored ones) sell briskly," while "books of the Rightly Guided Path sit idle."^[68]

Women's rights[link]

Under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's father, the government supported advancements by women against child marriage, polygamy, exclusion from public society, and education segregation. However, independent feminist political groups were shut down and forcibly integrated into one state-created institution, which maintained many paternalistic views. Despite substantial opposition from Shiite religious jurists, the Iranian feminist movement, led by activists such as Fatemah Sayyeh, achieved further advancement under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His regime's changes focused on the civil sphere, and private-oriented family law remained restrictive, although the 1967 and 1975 Family Protection Laws attempted to reform this trend.^[69] Specifically, women gained the right to become ministers such as Farrokhroo Parsa and judges such as Shirin Ebadi, as well as any other profession regardless of their sex.

Marriages and children[link]

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and 3 of his children: Princess Farahnaz, Reza and Alireza

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi married three times:

Fawzia[link]

Dilawar Princess Fawzia of Egypt (born 5 November 1921), a daughter of King Fuad I of Egypt and Nazli Sabri; she also was a sister of King Farouk I of Egypt. They married in 1939 and were divorced in 1945 (Egyptian divorce) and 1948 (Iranian divorce). Together they had one child, a daughter:

• HIH Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 27 October 1940).

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari[link]

His second wife was Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari (22 June 1932 – 26 October 2001), the only daughter of Khalil Esfandiary, Iranian Ambassador to West Germany, and his wife, the former Eva Karl. They married in 1951, but divorced in 1958 when it became apparent that she could not bear children. Soraya later told The New York Times that the Shah had no choice but to divorce her, and that he was heavy hearted about the decision.^[70]

He subsequently indicated his interest in marrying Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, a daughter of the deposed Italian king, Umberto II. Pope John XXIII reportedly vetoed the suggestion. In an editorial about the rumors surrounding the marriage of "a Muslim sovereign and a Catholic princess", the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, considered the match "a grave danger,"^[71] especially considering that under the 1917 Code of Canon Law a Roman Catholic who married a divorced person would be automatically, and could be formally, excommunicated.

Farah Diba[link]

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi married his third and final wife, Farah Diba (born 14 October 1938), the only child of Sohrab Diba, Captain in the Imperial Iranian Army (son of an Iranian Ambassador to the Romanov Court in Moscow, Russia), and his wife, the former Farideh Ghotbi. They were married in 1959, and Queen Farah was crowned Shahbanu, or Empress, a title created especially for her in 1967. Previous royal consorts had been known as "Malakeh" (Arabic: Malika), or Queen. The couple remained together for twenty years, until the Shah's death. Farah Diba bore him four children:

• HIH Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (born 31 October 1960), heir to the now defunct Iranian throne
• HIH Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi (born 12 March 1963)
• HIH Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (28 April 1966 – 4 January 2011)
• HIH Princess Leila Pahlavi (27 March 1970 – 10 June 2001)

Honors[link]

Imperial Family after the Coronation. From left Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, His Imperial Majesty Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Empress Farah Pahlavi and Princess Shams Pahlavi. In the middle Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.

Universal Newsreel abouth the Shah's 40th birthday, 1959

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown of Persia (1926)
• Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlevi of Persia (1932)
• Collar of the Order of Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1939)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) (1942)
• Croix de Guerre w/ Palm of France (1945)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Propitious Clouds of the Republic of China, special grade (1946)
• Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States (1947)
• Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur of the Vatican (1948)
• Royal Victorian Chain (RVC) (1948)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Zulfiqar of Iran (1949)
• Collar of the Order of Hussein ibn Ali of Jordan (1949)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Renaissance of Jordan (1949)
• Order of the King Abdul Aziz Decoration of Honour, 1st Class of Saudi Arabia (1955)
• Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Bundesverdienstkreuz of West Germany (1955)
• Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Order of Merit of Lebanon (1956)
• Grand Collar of the Order of the Yoke and Arrows of Spain (1957)
• Grand Cross w/ Collar of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy (1957)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Idris I of Libya (1958)
• Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum of Japan (1958)
• Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria (1958)
• Knight of the Order of the Elephant of Denmark (1959)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1959)
• Order of Pakistan, 1st Class (1959)
• Order of Ojaswi Rajanya of Nepal (1960)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer of Greece (1960)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold of Belgium (1960)
• Grand Cross w/Collar of the Order of St Olav of Norway (1961)
• Grand Collar and Chain of the Order of Solomon of Ethiopia (1964)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Supreme Sun of Afghanistan (1965)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile of Egypt (1965)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin of Argentina (1965)
• Grand Cordon w/Collar of the Order of Independence of Tunisia (1965)
• Grand Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross of Brazil (1965)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Muhammad of Morocco (1966)
• Order of al-Khalifa of Bahrain (1966)
• Order of Independence of Qatar (1966)
• Order of the Badr Chain of Saudi Arabia (1966)
• Order of the Chain of Honour of the Sudan (1966)
• Order of the Flag with Diamonds Hungary (1966)
• Grand Cordon of the Grand Star of Yugoslavia (1966)
• Collar of the Order of the Seraphim of Sweden (1967) (Knight–1960)
• Order of the Crown of the Realm (DMN) (1968)
• Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri of Thailand (1968)
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (1970)
• Military Order of Oman, 1st Class (1973)
• Grand Collar of the Order of Charles III of Spain (1975)
• Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle of Mexico (1975)^[72]
• Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion, 1st Class w/ Collar of Czechoslovakia (1977)

Gallery[link]

See also[link]

	Iran portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal

• History of Iran
• Human rights in the Pahlavi Dynasty
• Middle East Theatre of World War II
• Monarchism in Iran
• National Car Museum of Iran, showcases the cars of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr.
• Nuclear program of Iran
• Tehran Conference
• Trans-Iranian Railway

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Abbas Milani. The Shah (Palgrave Macmillan; 2011) 488 pages; scholarly biography
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Answer to History, Stein & Day Pub, 1980, ISBN 0-8128-2755-4.
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, The Shah's Story, M. Joseph, 1980, ISBN 0-7181-1944-4
• Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah – A Memoir, Miramax Books, 2004, ISBN 1-4013-5209-X.
• Gholam Reza Afkhami, The Life and Times of the Shah, University of California Press, 2009, ISBN 0-520-25328-0
• Stephen Kinzer, All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, John Wiley & Sons, 2003, ISBN 0-471-26517-9
• William Shawcross, The Shah's last ride: The death of an ally, Touchstone, 1989, ISBN 0-671-68745-X.
• Ardeshir Zahedi, The Memoirs of Ardeshir Zahedi , IBEX, 2005, ISBN 1-58814-038-5.
• Amin Saikal The Rise and Fall of the Shah 1941–1979 Angus and Robertson (Princeton University Press) ISBN 0-207-14412-5
• David Harris, "The Crisis: the President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam" New York: Little, Brown &Co, 2004. ISBN 0-316-32394-2.
• Kapuściński, Ryszard (1982). Shah of Shahs. Vinage. ISBN 0-679-73801-0
• Ali M. Ansari, Modern Iran since 1921 ISBN 0-582-35685-7
• Ahmad Ali Massoud Ansari, Me and the Pahlavis, 1992
• History of Iran, a short account of the 1953 coup – IranChamber.com

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

• Biography portal Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (persian)
• Youtube.com, "LIBERATION", a Major Motion Picture about the Shah of Iran
• IranNegah.com, Video Archive of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• YouTube.com, Video: I knew Shah
• Aryamehr.org, A web site in Persian and English dedicated to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
• Rezashah.nl, A web site in Persian dedicated to Reza Shah including video clip and photos March 2007
• Ardeshirzahedi.eu, A web site in Persian dedicated to Ardeshir Zahedi including video clip of marriage with Princess Shahnaz and photos of Shah March 2007
• Nomullas.com, The Shah's last interview (conducted by David Frost in Panama)
• Interview with Mike Wallace – YouTube video
• Iranian.com, ISNA interview with Dr. Mahmood Kashani (Persian)
• Iranian.com, Mosaddeq saved the Shah, by Fereydoun Hoveyda
• NYtimes.com, James Risen: Secrets of History: The C.I.A. in Iran – A special report.; How a Plot Convulsed Iran in '53 (and in '79) The New York Times, 16 April 2000.
• Stephen Fleischman. CommonDreams.org, Shah knew what he was talking about: Oil is too valuable to burn, 29 November 2005.
• Roger Scruton. FortFreedom.org, In Memory of Iran by Roger Scruton, from 'Untimely tracts' (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1987), pp. 190–1
• PayVand.com, Brzezinski's role in overthrow of the Shah, Payvand News, 10 March 2006.
• Iranian.com, 'Free elections in 1979, my last audience with the Shah', by Fereydoun Hoveyda, The Iranian
• ParsTimes.com, Shah of Iran and US Presidents
• ParsTimes.com, Toasts of the President and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, at a State Dinner in Tehran: May 30, 1972
• Zahedi.info, relevant historical pictures
• YouTube.com, A History Channel video, presented in the context of comments made during a recent debate