Farah Pahlavi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Farah Pahlaviفرح پهلوی |
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Official portrait, 1973
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| Consort of the Shah of Iran | |
| As queen | 21 December 1959 – 26 October 1967 |
| As empress (shahbanu) |
26 October 1967 – 11 February 1979 |
| Coronation | 26 October 1967 |
| Born | Farah Diba 14 October 1938 Tehran, Imperial State of Iran |
| Spouse | |
| Issue |
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| House | Pahlavi (by marriage) |
| Father | Sohrab Diba |
| Mother | Farideh Ghotbi |
| Signature |  Persian signature  Latin signature |
Farah Pahlavi (born 14 October 1938) was the last Queen and Empress of Iran. She is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.
Farah was born into a wealthy Iranian family. However, her family's money decreased after her father died young. She studied architecture in Paris. There, she met Mohammad Reza at the Iranian embassy. They got married in December 1959. The Shah's first two marriages did not produce a son. A son was very important for the royal succession. So, everyone was very happy when Crown Prince Reza was born in October 1960.
As a kind person, Farah helped improve Iranian society through many charities. She started Iran's first American-style university. This allowed more women to attend college. She also helped buy back old Iranian art from museums in other countries.
By 1978, people in Iran were becoming unhappy with the government. This unhappiness was growing into a revolution. Farah and the Shah had to leave Iran in January 1979. They faced a death sentence if they stayed. Most countries did not want to let them in. But Anwar Sadat's Egypt welcomed them. The Shah was very sick and could not return to Iran. He died in exile in July 1980. After becoming a widow, Farah has continued her charity work. She now lives in Washington, D.C. and Paris.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Farah Diba was born on 14 October 1938 in Tehran, Iran. She came from an upper-class family. She was the only child of Captain Sohrab Diba and his wife, Farideh Ghotbi. Farah wrote that her father's family was from Iranian Azerbaijan. Her mother's family was from Lahijan, near the Caspian Sea.
Her grandfather was a diplomat in Russia in the late 1800s. Her father was an officer in the Iranian army. He studied at the French Military Academy. Farah felt very close to her father. His death in 1948 greatly affected her. Her family then faced money problems. They had to move from their large home into a shared apartment.
Farah started school at Tehran's Italian School. Then she went to the French Jeanne d’Arc School. Later, she attended the Lycée Razi. She was a good athlete and captain of her school's basketball team. After high school, she studied architecture in Paris.
Many Iranian students studying abroad received government help. The Shah, as the country's leader, often met with these students. It was during one of these meetings in 1959 that Farah Diba met Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After they both returned to Tehran, they began dating. They announced their engagement on 23 November 1959.
Marriage and Family Life
Farah Diba married Shah Mohammed Reza on 20 December 1959. She was 21 years old. The young Queen of Iran received a lot of attention. Her wedding was reported by news around the world. Her wedding dress was designed by Yves Saint Laurent. She wore the special Noor-ol-Ain Diamond tiara.
After the grand wedding, everyone hoped the Queen would have a son. This was very important for the Shah. His previous two marriages had only given him a daughter. A daughter could not inherit the throne. So, there was a lot of pressure on Farah. The Shah and his government really wanted a male heir. Also, the Shah's previous marriage ended because his wife could not have children.
The couple had four children:
- Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran (born 31 October 1960). He has three daughters.
- Princess Noor Pahlavi (born 3 April 1992)
- Princess Iman Pahlavi (born 12 September 1993)
- Princess Farah Pahlavi (born 17 January 2004)
- Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi of Iran (born 12 March 1963)
- Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi of Iran (28 April 1966 – 4 January 2011). He had one daughter.
- Iryana Leila Pahlavi (born 26 July 2011)
- Princess Leila Pahlavi of Iran (27 March 1970 – 10 June 2001)
As Queen and Empress
At first, Farah's main job was to have a male heir. After the Crown Prince was born, she could focus on other things. She started with a ceremonial role, attending events. In 1961, she visited France and became friends with the French culture minister. This led to art being exchanged between French and Iranian museums. This continued until the 1979 revolution.
Over time, Farah became more involved in government matters. She used her closeness to the Shah to get money and attention for causes she cared about. These were mainly women's rights and cultural development. She focused on "education, health, culture, and social matters." Politics was not her area.
One of Farah's big projects was starting Pahlavi University (now Shiraz University). This university was the first American-style university in Iran. It aimed to improve education for Iranian women. Before this, Iranian universities were based on the French style.
Farah worked long hours on her charity activities. She worked from about 9 am to 9 pm every weekday. She had a staff of 40 people to help her. She became a very visible person in the government. She supported 24 organizations for education, health, and culture. Her work for people made her very popular, especially in the early 1970s. She traveled a lot within Iran. She visited many remote areas and met with local people.
Farah's importance was clear during the 1967 Coronation Ceremonies. She was crowned as the first shahbanu (empress) of modern Iran. It was also confirmed when the Shah named her as the official regent. This meant she would rule if he died or became unable to rule before the Crown Prince turned 21. Naming a woman as regent was very unusual for a Middle Eastern country.
Art and Culture Contributions
From the start of her royal life, Farah was very interested in promoting art and culture in Iran. She helped create many organizations. These groups aimed to make Iranian art, both old and new, well-known in Iran and the Western world. She worked with foundations and advisers to reach this goal. Her ministry supported many types of art. This included traditional Iranian arts like weaving and poetry. It also included Western theater.
One of her most famous projects was supporting the Shiraz Arts Festival. This event happened every year from 1967 to 1977. It featured live shows by Iranian and Western artists. Most of her time was spent creating museums and building their collections.
As a former architecture student, Farah loved architecture. The Royal Palace of Niavaran shows this. It was finished in 1968. It mixes traditional Iranian architecture with modern 1960s design. The Empress's personal library is nearby. It has 22,000 books, mostly on art, philosophy, and religion.
Bringing Ancient Art Home
Iran has a rich cultural history. But in the 1960s, many of its old art treasures were in foreign museums. One of Farah's main goals was to get these artifacts back for Iran. She got permission and money from the government to "buy back" Iranian art. These items came from collections both inside and outside Iran. She worked with famous Iranian art dealers, Houshang and Mehdi Mahboubian.
With these artifacts, she started several national museums. Many of these museums still exist today. She also began an Iranian version of the National Trust. Museums and cultural centers she helped create include the Negarestan Cultural Center and the Reza Abbasi Museum. Others are the Khorramabad Museum, the National Carpet Gallery, and the Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Iran.
Supporting Modern Art
Farah also wanted to buy modern Western and Iranian art. She strongly supported the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. She used government money to buy important Western artworks. She bought these when the art market was not very strong in the 1970s.
Under her guidance, the museum bought almost 150 works. These included art by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock. The collection at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the most important outside Europe and the United States.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new government took power. This government was against Western influence. However, they kept Farah's Western art collection. This was probably because it was worth so much money. The art was not shown publicly for almost 20 years. It was stored in the museum's vaults. In September 2005, a large part of the collection was briefly shown again.
The Iranian Revolution and Exile
By early 1978, many people were unhappy with Iran's government. By the end of the year, people were protesting against the monarchy. Farah wrote that there was a "growing sense of unease." Because of safety concerns, most of Farah's official activities were canceled.
Protests and unrest became more common. In January 1979, the government declared martial law in most big cities. The country was close to a full revolution. Mohammad Reza and Farah left Iran by plane on 16 January 1979.
For over a year, the couple looked for a permanent home. Many governments did not want to let them in. This was because the new Iranian government wanted to arrest and kill the Shah and Shahbanu. They did not know how much Iran would pressure other countries.
Egyptian president Anwar Sadat had been friends with Mohammad Reza for years. His wife, Jehan Sadat, was also friends with Farah. So, Sadat allowed them to stay in Egypt. They also spent time in Morocco and the Bahamas. When their visas for the Bahamas were not renewed, they went to Mexico. They rented a house near Mexico City in the summer of 1979.
The Shah's Illness
After leaving Egypt, Mohammad Reza's health got worse. He had a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In October 1979, the couple was allowed into the United States for medical care. This made relations between the US and the new Iranian government even worse. These tensions led to the attack on the American embassy in Tehran. This event became known as the Iran hostage crisis.
The Shah and Shahbanu were not allowed to stay in the United States. After the Shah's surgery on 22 October 1979, they left for Contadora Island in Panama. Both Mohammad Reza and Farah were unhappy with the US government. They felt the US had not supported them enough.
There were rumors that the Panamanian government might arrest Mohammad Reza. They thought he might be sent back to Iran. The Shah and Shahbanu asked President Anwar Sadat if they could return to Egypt. Their request was granted. They returned to Egypt in March 1980. They stayed there until the Shah died four months later, on 27 July 1980.
Life in Exile
After the Shah's death, Farah stayed in Egypt for two years. President Anwar Sadat allowed her and her children to live in the Koubbeh Palace. She was a regent in name from 27 July to 31 October 1980. A few months after President Sadat was killed in October 1981, Farah and her family left Egypt. President Ronald Reagan told her she was welcome in the United States.
Farah first lived in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Later, she bought a home in Greenwich, Connecticut. After her daughter Princess Leila died in 2001, Farah bought a smaller home in Potomac, Maryland. This was closer to her son and grandchildren. Farah now spends her time between Washington, D.C. and Paris. Every July, she visits Mohammad Reza Shah's mausoleum in Cairo, Egypt.
Farah attended the funeral of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan. She supports charities, like a fundraising event for Alzheimer's disease in Paris. She still attends some international royal events. These include weddings and funerals of other royal families.
Her Memoir
In 2003, Farah wrote a book about her marriage to Mohammad Reza. It was called An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah. This book got a lot of attention around the world. It was a best-seller in Europe. Parts of the book appeared in magazines. Farah also appeared on talk shows.
Opinions about the book were mixed. Publishers Weekly called it a "candid, straightforward account." The Washington Post called it "engrossing." However, The New York Times said it was "full of anger and bitterness." But an Iranian writer, Reza Bayegan, praised the book. He said it was "full of affection and sympathy for her countrymen."
Documentaries and Plays
In 2009, a director named Nahid Persson Sarvestani made a documentary about Farah Pahlavi's life. It was called The Queen and I. The film was shown at many film festivals. In 2012, a Dutch director made a play inspired by Farah Pahlavi's life in exile.
Honours and Awards
| Styles of Empress Farah of Iran |
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| Reference style | Her Imperial Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
National Honours
Member 1st Class of the Order of the Pleiades
Foreign Honours
Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Czechoslovakia: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion
Denmark: Order of the Elephant
Italy: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav
Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Thailand: Dame of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri
Awards
- Austria: Look! Women of the Year Hope Award
France: Foreign Associate Academician of the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Germany: Steiger Award- Germany: Südwestfalen Charlie Award
United States: National Museum of Women in the Arts Award for International Cultural Patronage
See also
In Spanish: Farah Pahlaví para niños
- Empress's Crown
Images for kids
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Farah with Iranian Boy Scouts in Paris, around 1956
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Farah on her wedding day, 21 December 1959
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The Queen visiting Kermanshah, Iran, 1963
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The Empress visiting Kavir, Iran, 1974
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The Empress working in her office in Tehran, around the 1970s
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Farah with Rosalynn Carter, the First Lady of the United States, in 1977
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Farah wearing the Empress's Crown after her coronation in 1967
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Farah visiting an orphanage in Iran, around 1968
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Shahbanu Farah with the Shah at the opening of the Roudaki Hall in Tehran, 1967
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Farah visiting China in 1972
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Farah inside the Jameh Mosque of Sabzevar, 1974
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Farah at the Imamzadeh Hamzeh Mosque in Kashmar, Iran (1974)
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Poster of Shahbanu Farah damaged by protesters during the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
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The Shah and the Shahbanu on 16 January 1979, just before leaving Iran due to the Islamic Revolution
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Farah in Washington, D.C., in March 2016
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Farah during an interview with Voice of America, around the 2010s
