The Shah

The write-up

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran's last shah. He reigned from 1941 until leaving Iran in January 1979, weeks before the monarchy fell.

1. Exhibit A

   Taking the throne

   Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran on Oct. 26, 1919. He became shah on Sept. 16, 1941, after British and Soviet forces occupied Iran and forced his father, Reza Shah, to abdicate.

2. Exhibit B

   1953

   In August 1953, during a power struggle with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the shah briefly left the country. He returned days later after a coup backed covertly by the United States and Britain.

3. Exhibit C

   The White Revolution

   The White Revolution was put to a referendum and ratified in 1963. It redistributed land to some 2.5 million families, set up literacy and health corps, and extended voting rights to women, who first voted in a parliamentary election on Sept. 17, 1963.

4. Exhibit D

   Economy and opposition

   Per capita income rose sharply, but by the 1970s inflation was high and buying power had stalled. Shiite clerics objected to the reforms, and secular nationalists and leftist groups joined them in opposition, citing the lack of political participation and repression by the SAVAK security service.

5. Exhibit E

   Leaving Iran

   The shah left Iran on Jan. 16, 1979, without formally abdicating. The Islamic Republic was declared on April 1, 1979.

6. Exhibit F

   Death

   After treatment for cancer in the United States, he received asylum in Egypt and died in Cairo on July 27, 1980.