Pahlavi, Reza Shah

Pahlavi, Reza Shah (b. 16 Mar. 1878, d. 26 July 1944). Shah of Iran 1925–41 Born in Alasht (Mazandaran), he became an officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade. He led the army coup of 21 February 1921 which overthrew the Qajar dynasty and established a military dictatorship under Ahmad Shah. He served successively as Minister of War and Prime Minister, until he led another coup which deposed Ahmad and installed himself as Shah. Subsequently, he strove to rid Iran of all foreign influence, and to make efficient use of the country's increasingly important oil reserves. To this end, he reformed the bureaucracy and administration. He greatly improved the organization, training, and equipment of the army. Meanwhile, he assumed complete control over economic developments, using the state's growing resources to encourage the development of industries. Thus, the building of the Trans-Iranian Railway (1927–38) was achieved without foreign finance. His legal and educational reforms had the unfortunate side effect of alienating substantial sections of Iran's devout Islamic Shi'ite community. While his reforms did much to strengthen the country's politics and economy, they were unable to prevent Iran's occupation by Soviet and British forces during World War II, in response to his insistence on complete neutrality. He was obliged to abdicate in favour of his son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, and died in exile in South Africa.