Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi

Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi , 1919-80, shah of Iran (1941-79). Educated in Switzerland, he returned (1935) to Iran to attend the military academy in Tehran. He ascended the throne in 1941 after his father, Reza Shah Pahlevi , was suspected of collaboration with the Germans and was deposed by British and Soviet troops. He narrowly escaped assassination (1949) by a member of the leftist Tudeh party, and in 1953 he briefly fled the country after a clash with the supporters of Muhammad Mussadegh. A moderate, the shah launched (1963) a reform program with U.S. assistance called the "White Revolution," which included land redistribution among citizens, extensive construction, the promotion of literacy, and the emancipation of women. However in the process, the grassroots population became increasingly isolated as wealth, emanating from the oil industry, was unequally distributed among Iranians. The shah faced further criticism from the internal religious clergy, who disfavored his pro-Western policies. As popular discontent grew, particularly in the early 1970s, the shah became more repressive, calling upon his brutal secret police (SAVAK) to put down domestic strife. Massive rioting erupted in Iran, and widespread support for the exiled religious leader Ruhollah Khomeini grew by 1978. On Jan. 16, 1979, Shah Pahlevi fled the country; Khomeini returned to Iran and took control. When in Oct., 1979, Iranian extremists stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, they demanded the shah in return for the American hostages being held in the embassy. The shah, however, remained abroad; he died in Egypt in 1980.

Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980) Shah of Iran (1941–79). The son of Reza PAHLAVI, he succeeded on the abdication of his father. After the fall of MUSSADEGH in 1953 he gained supreme power and with the aid of greatly increased oil revenues, embarked upon a policy of rapid social reform and economic development, while maintaining a regime of harsh repression. In 1962 he introduced a land reform programme to break landlord power. In 1979 he was deposed by a revolution led by the Islamic clergy, notably Ayatollah KHOMEINI, whose supporters were bitterly opposed to the pro-western regime of the Shah. He died in exile in Egypt.

Pahlavi, Muhammad Reza Shah (b. 26 Oct. 1919, d. 27 July 1980). Shah of Iran 1941–79 Born in Tehran, he succeeded his deposed father on 17 September 1941, and was subsequently anxious to avoid his predecessor's mistake of having been too reserved towards UK and US influence. Unfortunately, he ultimately went too far in this endeavour, when he came to rely predominantly on US aid against internal popular opposition to his secular reforms. Thus, he resisted the coup by Mussadeq and, after a brief period in exile (1953), returned to speed up a programme of comprehensive social, economic, and cultural reform. Known as the ‘White Revolution’, his measures redistributed some land, and sought to diversify industry through a generally ill-conceived attempt at industrialization. As these changes were designed less to bring about social peace, than to buttress the regime's corrupt allies in the military and among powerful landowners and other owners of capital, his reforms even increased domestic opposition, such as that led by Ayatollah Khomeini. He murdered thousands of political opponents each year, while tens of thousands suffered imprisonment and torture. He was finally unable to contain the unrest that had built up against him for so long, and was forced to flee the country on 16 January 1979. He ultimately settled in Egypt, comforted by his enormous wealth, amassed at the expense of his own people and kept secure in foreign bank accounts.