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52-698: The university, founded by Queen Farah Pahlavi in 1964, began as a private institution under the title of the Higher Educational Institute For Girls with 90 students. After the Iranian revolution , the university attained public status, and was renamed Mahboubeh Mottahedin after an Iranian Revolutionary who was killed prior to the 1979 revolution. In 1983 the university was renamed Alzahra University. The university offers 51 undergraduate, 83 graduate, and 31 post-graduate programs to 10,000 students. The university has ten faculties and

104-577: A man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,

156-955: A ceremonial role. In 1961 during a visit to France, the Francophile Farah befriended the French culture minister André Malraux , leading her to arrange the exchange of cultural artifacts between French and Iranian art galleries and museums, a lively trade that continued until the Islamic revolution of 1979. She spent much of her time attending the openings of various education and health-care institutions without venturing too deeply into controversial issues. However, as time progressed, this position changed. The Queen became much more actively involved in government affairs where it concerned issues and causes that interested her. She used her proximity and influence with her husband Mohammad Reza, to secure funding and focus attention on causes, particularly in

208-517: A daughter who, under agnatic primogeniture , could not inherit the throne. The pressure for Farah was acute. The shah himself was deeply anxious to have a male heir as were the members of his government. Furthermore, it was known that the dissolution of the Mohammad Reza's previous marriage to Queen Soraya had been due to her infertility. The couple had four children: The exact role the new queen would play, in public or government affairs,

260-853: A diplomat serving as the Persian Ambassador to the Romanov Court in St. Petersburg , Russia. Her own father was an officer in the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces and a graduate of the French Military Academy at St. Cyr . Farah wrote in her memoir that she had a close bond with her father, and his unexpected death in 1948 deeply affected her. The young family was in a difficult financial state. In their reduced circumstances, they were forced to move from their large family villa in northern Tehran into

312-488: A research center for women's studies, as well as a branch in the city of Urmia (the capital of West Azerbaijan province) and two self-supporting campuses. The faculties of Alzahra University are Art, Biological Sciences, Education and Psychology, Engineering and Technology, Literature and Languages, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Education, Physics and Chemistry, Social and Economic Sciences, and Theology. The university initiated its graduate studies program in 1990, under

364-529: A shared apartment with one of Farideh Ghotbi's brothers. The young Farah Diba began her education at Tehran's Italian School , then moved to the French Jeanne d’Arc School until the age of sixteen and later to the Lycée Razi . She was an athlete in her youth, becoming captain of her school's basketball team. Upon finishing her studies at the Lycée Razi , she pursued an interest in architecture at

416-573: A son—necessary for royal succession —resulting in great rejoicing at the birth of Crown Prince Reza in October of the following year. As a philanthropist, she progressed Iranian civil society through 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

468-568: A traditional Iranian restaurant, whose building is over 120 years old. A post office, bank, travel agency office, cellphone services office, grocery store, bookstore and photocopy kiosk are on campus. Eighteen academic journals are published by the university, such as Journal of Applied Biology, Journal of Brand Management, Women's Sociological and Psychological Studies, Women and Family Studies, Applied Physics, Historical Perspective & Historiography, History of Islam and Iran, Language Research, and many more. 6,000 theses and dissertations reside in

520-537: A university student in 1950s France about being asked where she was from: When I told them Iran ... the Europeans would recoil in horror as if Iranians were barbarians and loathsome. But after Iran became wealthy under the Shah in the 1970s, Iranians were courted everywhere. Yes, Your Majesty. Of course, Your Majesty. If you please, Your Majesty. Fawning all over us. Greedy sycophants. Then they loved Iranians. From

572-597: A wide selection of Iranian artifacts from foreign and domestic collections. This was achieved with the help of the brothers Houshang and Mehdi Mahboubian, the most prominent Iranian antiquities dealers of the era, who advised the Empress from 1972 to 1978. With these artifacts she founded several national museums (many of which still survive to this day) and began an Iranian version of the National Trust . Museums and cultural centres created under her guidance include

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624-461: A year, the couple searched for permanent asylum. Many governments were unwilling to allow them within their borders because the revolutionary government in Iran had ordered the Shah and Shahbanu's arrest and death and it was not known how much it would pressure foreign powers. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat , who had maintained close relations with Mohammad Reza for years (and whose wife Jehan Sadat

676-631: Is a member of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the Federation of Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), and has established close ties and signed more than 45 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for academic-research collaborations with accredited universities and research centers worldwide from a variety of countries, such as Pakistan, Iraq, Germany, Uganda, France, Russia, India, Kyrgyzstan, China,

728-416: Is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote

780-554: Is the former Queen and last Empress ( شهبانو , Shahbânu ) of Iran and is the widow of the last Shah of Iran , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . 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

832-467: The Royal Palace of Niavaran , designed by Mohsen Foroughi, and completed in 1968: it mixes traditional Iranian architecture with 1960's contemporary design. Nearby is the personal library of the Empress, consisting of 22,000 books, comprising principally works on Western and Eastern art, philosophy and religion; the interior was designed by Aziz Farmanfarmayan. Historically a culturally rich country,

884-587: The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is considered to be one of the most significant outside Europe and the United States. The vast collection has been tastefully showcased in a large coffee table book published by Assouline titled Iran Modern According to Parviz Tanavoli , a modern Iranian sculptor and a former Cultural Adviser to the Empress, that the impressive collection was amassed for "tens, not hundreds, of millions of dollars". As of 2008 ,

936-471: The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art . Using funds allocated from the government, the Shahbanu took advantage of a somewhat depressed art market of the 1970s to purchase several important works of Western art. Under her guidance, the museum acquired nearly 150 works by such artists as Pablo Picasso , Claude Monet , George Grosz , Andy Warhol , Jackson Pollock , and Roy Lichtenstein . The collection of

988-594: The École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, where she was a student of Albert Besson . Many Iranian students who were studying abroad at this time were dependent on State sponsorship. Therefore, when the Shah , as head of state, made official visits to foreign countries, he frequently met with a selection of local Iranian students. It was during such a meeting in 1959 at the Iranian Embassy in Paris that Farah Diba

1040-488: The 2016 wedding of Prince Leka of Albania , the 2023 funeral of Constantine II of Greece , and the 2023 wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan . In 2003, Farah wrote a book about her marriage to Mohammad Reza entitled An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah . The publication of the former Empress's memoirs attracted international interest. It was a best-seller in Europe, with excerpts appearing in news magazines and

1092-820: The Asiatic Institute; the Civilisations Discussion Centre; the Pahlavi University; the Academy of Sciences. Farah worked long hours at her charitable activities, from about 9 am to 9 pm every weekday. Eventually, the Queen came to preside over a staff of 40 who handled various requests for assistance on a range of issues. She became one of the most highly visible figures in the Imperial Government and

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1144-1188: The Central Library of the university. The university offers its undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs to international students. Around 128 international students study at Alzahra University, from Afghanistan , Pakistan , Iraq , Lebanon , Nigeria , Turkey , Syria , Tajikistan , and Tanzania . Some of the facilities for international students are: Ranked 601–800 for Engineering and Technology in Times Higher Education Ranking 2020 Ranked 557 for Natural Sciences and 371 for Technical Sciences in Round University Ranking 2019 Ranked 201 in Times Higher Education University Impact Ranking 2019 Ranked 68 in UI Green Metric 2018 Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi ( Persian : فرح پهلوی ; née   Diba [ دیبا ]; born 14 October 1938)

1196-541: The French style. The Empress wrote in 1978 that her duties were: I could not write in detail of all the organizations over which I preside and in which I take a very active part, in the realms of education, health, culture and social matters. It would need a further book. A simple list would perhaps give some idea: the Organization for Family Well Being-nurseries for the children of working mothers, teaching women and girls to read, professional training, family planning;

1248-411: The Iran of the 1960s had little to show for it. Many of the great artistic treasures produced during its 2,500-year history had found their way into the hands of foreign museums and private collections. It became one of Farah's principal goals to procure for Iran an appropriate collection of its own historic artifacts. To that end, she secured from her husband's government permission and funds to "buy back"

1300-761: The Negarestan Cultural Center, the Reza Abbasi Museum , the Khorramabad Museum with its valuable collection of Lorestān bronzes , the National Carpet Gallery and the Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Iran . Aside from building a collection of historic Iranian artifacts, Farah also expressed interest in acquiring contemporary Western and Iranian art. To this end, she put her significant patronage behind

1352-1138: The Organization for Blood Transfusion; the Organization for the Fight Against Cancer; the Organization for Help to the Needy, the Health Organization ;... the Children's Centre; the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children ... the Imperial Institute of Philosophy; the Foundation for Iranian Culture; the Festival of Shiraz, the Tehran Cinema Festival; the Iranian Folklore Organization;

1404-591: The Philippines, Indonesia, Syria, Libya, Belarus, among others. Alzahra University has central and faculty libraries with 77,000 hard copies of books (33,000 of which are in English), and 930 Persian and English academic journals. Among other facilities offered at Alzahra University are electronic libraries, professional laboratories, language labs, computer labs, an art gallery, an educational center, business incubators, pool and sports facilities, food centers and

1456-452: The areas of women's rights and cultural development. Farah's concerns were the "realms of education, health, culture and social matters" with politics being excluded from her purview. One of Farah's main initiatives was founding Pahlavi University (now Shiraz University ), which was meant to improve the education of Iranian women, and was the first American-style university in Iran; before then, Iranian universities had always been modeled on

1508-485: The author appearing on talk shows and in other media outlets. However, opinion about the book, which Publishers Weekly called "a candid, straightforward account" and The Washington Post called "engrossing", was mixed. Elaine Sciolino , The New York Times 's Paris bureau chief, gave the book a less than flattering review, describing it as "well translated" but "full of anger and bitterness". But National Review's Reza Bayegan , an Iranian writer, praised

1560-700: The beginning of her royal life, Farah took an active interest in promoting culture and the arts in Iran. Through her patronage, numerous organizations were created and fostered to further her ambition of bringing historical and contemporary Iranian Art to prominence both inside Iran and in the Western world. In addition to her own efforts, Farah sought to achieve this goal with the assistance of various foundations and advisers. Her ministry encouraged many forms of artistic expression, including traditional Iranian arts (such as weaving, singing, and poetry recital) as well as Western theatre. Her most recognized endeavour supporting

1612-590: The couple departed for Contadora Island in Panama . Both Mohammad Reza and Farah viewed the Carter administration with some antipathy in response to a lack of support. Speculation arose that the Panamanian government was seeking to arrest Mohammad Reza in preparation for extradition to Iran. The Shah and Shahbanu again made an appeal to President Anwar Sadat to return to Egypt (Empress Farah writes that this plea

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1664-705: The couple was allowed into the United States for medical treatment, inflaming already tense relations between the US government and the revolutionaries in Tehran . The tensions ultimately led to the attack and takeover of the American embassy in Tehran in what became known as the Iran hostage crisis . The Shah and Shahbanu were not permitted to remain in the United States, and shortly after the Shah's surgical treatment on 22 October 1979,

1716-561: The funeral of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. She supports charities, including the International Fund Raising for Alzheimer Disease gala in Paris. Farah continues to appear at certain international royal events such as the 2004 wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark , the 2010 wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark , the 2011 wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco ,

1768-445: The life of Farah Pahlavi in exile. In the play Liz Snoijink acted as Farah Diba. Empress Farah Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become

1820-522: The memoir as "abound[ing] with affection and sympathy for her countrymen." In 2009 the Persian-Swedish director Nahid Persson Sarvestani released a feature length documentary about Farah Pahlavi's life, entitled The Queen and I . The film was screened in various International film festivals such as IDFA and Sundance . In 2012 the Dutch director Kees Roorda made a theatre play inspired by

1872-553: The monarchy. Pahlavi wrote in her memoirs that "there was an increasingly palpable sense of unease". Under these circumstances most of the Shahbanu's official activities were cancelled due to concerns for her safety. Riots and unrest grew more frequent and culminated in January 1979. The government enacted martial law in most major Iranian cities and the country was on the verge of an open revolution. Mohammad Reza and Farah departed Iran via aircraft on 16 January 1979. For more than

1924-410: The patron of 24 educational, health and cultural organizations. Her humanitarian role earned her immense popularity for a time, particularly in the early 1970s. During this period, she travelled a great deal within Iran, visiting some of the more remote parts of the country and meeting with the local citizens. Farah's significance was exemplified by her part in the 1967 Coronation Ceremonies, where she

1976-477: The performing arts was her patronage of the Shiraz Arts Festival . This occasionally controversial event was held annually from 1967 until 1977 and featured live performances by both Iranian and Western artists. The majority of her time, however, went into the creation of museums and the building of their collections. As a former architecture student, Farah's appreciation of it is demonstrated in

2028-560: The person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née

2080-434: The same year. The university offers doctoral programs in history (Islamic history and history of Islamic Iran), psychology, economics, research in art, chemistry, physics, and applied mathematics. The academic faculty of the university is a community of some 350 tenured scholars teaching and conducting research. The professors work in collaboration with visiting colleagues from other Iranian universities. Alzahra University

2132-507: The supervision of Vice Chancellery for Academic Affairs, by establishing an Educational Psychology master's degree program and admitting 11 students. It then established five fields and admission of 36 students in 1993. In 1994 the Graduate Studies Affairs was established and commenced its mission with 158 students in eight master's degree fields. The first PhD examination was administered in the major of Islamic History in

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2184-563: The value of these holdings are conservatively estimated to be near US$ 2.8 billion. The collection created a conundrum for the anti-western Islamic Republic which took power after the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1979. Although politically the fundamentalist government rejected Western influence in Iran, the Western art collection amassed by Farah was retained, most likely due to its enormous value. It was, nevertheless, not publicly displayed and spent nearly two decades in storage in

2236-422: The vaults of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art . This caused much speculation as to the fate of the artwork which was only put to rest after a large portion of the collection was briefly seen again in an exhibition that took place in Tehran during September 2005. By early 1978, dissatisfaction with Iran's imperial government was pronounced. By the end of the year, citizens were holding demonstrations against

2288-595: Was born on 14 October 1938 in Tehran to an upper-class family. She was the only child of Captain Sohrab Diba (1899–1948) and his wife, Farideh Ghotbi (1920–2000). In her memoir, Farah writes that her father's family were natives of Iranian Azerbaijan while her mother's family were of Gilak origin, from Lahijan on the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea . In the late 19th century her grandfather had been

2340-570: Was crowned as the first shahbanu (empress) of modern Iran. It was again confirmed when the Shah named her as the official regent should he die or be incapacitated before the Crown Prince's 21st birthday. The naming of a woman as regent was highly unusual for a Middle Eastern or Muslim monarchy. The great wealth generated by Iran's oil encouraged a sense of Iranian nationalism at the Imperial Court. The Empress recalled of her days as

2392-457: Was designed by Yves Saint Laurent , then a designer at the house of Dior , and she wore the newly commissioned Noor-ol-Ain Diamond tiara . After the pomp and celebrations associated with the imperial wedding, the success of this union became contingent upon the queen's ability to produce a male heir. Although he had been married twice before, the Shah's previous marriages had given him only

2444-431: Was first presented to Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. After returning to Tehran in the summer of 1959, Mohammad Reza and Farah Diba began their courtship. The couple announced their engagement on 23 November 1959. Farah Diba married Shah Mohammed Reza on 20 December 1959, aged 21. The young Queen of Iran (as she was styled at the time) was the object of much curiosity and her wedding received worldwide press attention. Her gown

2496-630: Was friends with Farah), allowed them to stay in Egypt. They also spent time in Morocco , where they were guests of King Hassan II , and in the Bahamas . When their Bahamian visas were not renewed, they went to Mexico and rented a villa in Cuernavaca near Mexico City during the summer of 1979. After leaving Egypt, Mohammad Reza's health further declined from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . In October 1979,

2548-696: Was made through a conversation between herself and Jehan Sadat). Their request was granted and they returned to Egypt in March 1980, where they remained until the Shah's death four months later on 27 July 1980. After the Shah's death, Farah spent two years in Egypt, where President Anwar Sadat allowed her and the children to stay in the Koubbeh Palace . She was the regent in pretence from 27 July to 31 October 1980. A few months after President Sadat's assassination in October 1981, Farah and her family left Egypt. President Ronald Reagan informed her that she

2600-529: 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 that 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 and Paris. Farah Diba

2652-474: Was uncertain with her main role being simply to give the Shah a male heir. Within the Imperial Household, her public function was secondary to the far more pressing matter of assuring the succession. However, after the birth of the Crown Prince, the Queen was free to devote more of her time to other activities and official pursuits. Like many other royal consorts, Farah initially limited herself to

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2704-665: Was welcome in the United States. Farah first settled in Williamstown, Massachusetts and later bought a home in Greenwich, Connecticut . After the death of her daughter Princess Leila in 2001, she purchased a smaller home in Potomac, Maryland , near Washington, D.C. to be closer to her son and grandchildren. Farah divides her time between Washington, D.C. and Paris and makes an annual July visit to Mohammad Reza Shah's mausoleum at Cairo's al-Rifa'i Mosque . Farah attended

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