Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi (, ''née''
Diba (); born 14 October 1938) is the widow of the last
Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was successively Queen and Empress (, ''
Shahbanu'') of
Iran from 1959 to 1979. She was born into a prosperous Iranian family whose fortunes were diminished after her father's early death. While studying architecture in
Paris, she was introduced to Mohammad Reza at the
Iranian embassy, and they were married in December 1959. The Shah's first two marriages had not produced a son—necessary for
royal succession—resulting in great rejoicing at the birth of
Crown Prince Reza in October of the following year. Farah was then free to pursue interests other than domestic duties, though she was not allowed a political role. She worked for many charities, and founded Iran's
first American-style university, enabling more women to become students in the country. She also facilitated the buying-back of Iranian antiquities from museums abroad.
By 1978, growing
anti-imperial unrest fueled by
communism,
socialism, and
Islamism throughout Iran was showing clear signs of
impending revolution, prompting Farah and the Shah to leave the country in January 1979 under the threat of a death sentence. For this reason, most countries were reluctant to
harbour them, with
Anwar Sadat's Egypt being an exception. Facing execution should he return, and in ill health, Mohammad Reza died in
exile in July 1980. In widowhood, Farah has continued her charity work, dividing her time between
Washington, D.C., and Paris.
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