January 16, 1979 - Shah of Iran

Human Rights a Day

Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi flees Iran as Islamic Ayatollah takes control. In 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran to replace the Iranian monarch, the shah of Iran, with his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The new shah reigned over his country with limited powers until 1953, when his supporters – helped by the British and American governments – removed the country’s prime minister in a coup. In the 1960s, the shah brought in reforms in an effort to liberalize the country. He also chose to take strong action against the growing tide of Muslim support. In 1963, the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini was imprisoned, then exiled for his opposition to the shah’s regime. For every act of opposition, the shah would bring in stronger measures, violating human rights in order to hold onto power. With the Ayatollah receiving considerable support in exile, the battle lines were drawn. Near the end of his regime, the shah imposed martial law, but it was not enough to dissuade the Ayatollah’s supporters from enacting massive strikes in the country’s lucrative oil fields. On January 16, 1979, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah, left Tehran for Egypt, never to return. The Ayatollah returned from exile in France, and he and his Islamic Council took control of Iran and imposed a strict state of Islamic law. The shah died in Egypt in 1980.

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