Mohammad-Amin Riahi

Mohammad-Amin Riahi (Persian: محمدامین ریاحی‎‎; 1 June 1923, Khoy – 15 May 2009, Tehran) was a prominent Iranian literary scholar of Persian literature, a historian, writer and statesman. Apart from being one of the authors of Dehkhoda Dictionary and Encyclopædia Iranica, he was the author and editor of several well-known scholarly books. Mohammad-Amin Riahi received his PHD on Persian literature from Tehran University under the supervision of Badiozzaman Forouzanfar. Riahi is best known for his scholarly works on Shahnameh and Ferdowsi, Hafiz, and the ancient language of Azerbaijani. He has produced critical editions of some of the major classical Persian texts such as Mersad-al-ebad and Nozhat-al-majalis. During a course of 60 years he published numerous scholarly articles, a selection of which are gathered in a volume titled Forty essays on language, literature and history of Iran.

Among numerous cultural positions he held during his career, Riahi was a professor of Tehran University, the founding member and later president of the Shahnameh Foundation (1971–1979), vice-chairman of the Iranian Academy of Literature and Arts, and Iranian Minister of Education (1979).

Slim Riahi

Slim Riahi (Arabic: سليم الرياحي‎; born 1972) is a Tunisian businessman and politician. He is the founder and leader of the Free Patriotic Union (UPL).

Biography

Slim Riahi was born on 13 July 1972 in Bizerte, Tunisia. In 1980, his family went into exile in Libya, as his father was an Arab nationalist opposed to President Habib Bourguiba, as well as to his successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Slim Riahi grew up in Libya. He studied management at the Al Fateh University in Tripoli. Then, he engaged in the oil production, energy, aviation and property development industries, which acquired him great wealth, worth billions. Later, he moved to London, and holds dual British and Tunisian citizenship.

Returning to Tunisia after the Tunisian revolution in January 2011, he founded a political party, the Free Patriotic Union (UPL), which promotes an economically liberal and modernist program and positions itself at the centre of the political spectrum. The party run into controversy for mingling political and business interests, extensive campaigning and unclear financial resources. In August 2011, Riahi announced that he was planning to enter into Tunisia's media business with acquiring a 20-percent stake of the newspaper publisher Dar Assabah. He also established three TV stations, namely Ettounsiya Al-Oula, Ettounsiya Sport and Ettounsiya News.