Abdul Reza Pahlavi

Abdul Reza Pahlavi (; 19 August 1924 – 11 May 2004) was a member of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty. He was a son of Reza Shah and a half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Early life and education Abdul Reza Pahlavi was born on 19 August 1924 in Tehran. She was a member of the Qajar dynasty They married in 1923. Abdul Reza had three brothers and a sister: Ahmad Reza, Mahmoud Reza, Fatemeh and Hamid Reza Pahlavi. They lived in the Marble palace in Tehran with their parents.

Career and views During the reign of his half-brother, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Abdul Reza headed different institutions. He was one of the prominent members of the royal court. On 3 September 1949 he was named honorary head of the supreme planning board of Iran's seven-year plan. Following the overthrow of the cabinet of Mohammad Mosaddegh in August 1953 there were proposals to depose the Shah Mohammad and to replace him with Abdul Reza in the post.

Abdul Reza was the head of the planning organization between 1954 and 1955. Prince Abdul Reza was one of the critics of the Shah in the late 1950s.

Abdul Reza also dealt with business, being wholly or partly the owner of factories, mining operations and agricultural firms. He left Iran before the 1979 revolution together with other relatives.

Hunting and wildlife conservation

Pahlavi was an enthusiastic hunter and sportsman throughout his life. He was the founder and president of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Game (IGF) in Paris, a group promoting wildlife conservation and responsible hunting in developing countries.

Pahlavi assisted in the creation of Iran's first game laws and game enforcement agency, and helped establish more than 20 million acres of reserves and parks in Iran. While criticized for promoting trophy hunting for himself and friends, Pahlavi aggressively pursued poachers while head of the Iranian Department of the Environment, establishing one of the most extensive and successful big-game management programs in the developing world. He was also responsible for enacting law protecting endangered species such as the gazelle, Caspian tiger, wild ass, cheetah, and the Persian fallow deer from extinction, imposing stiff fines for game law violators. In 1978, he approved the transfer of four Persian fallow deer from Iran to Israel before the fall of the Shah.

Awards for hunting Pahlavi was the recipient of several awards for his hunting-related activities. He was awarded the Weatherby Award in 1962. In 1984 the Safari Club International honored him with the Hunting Hall of Fame and in 1988 he received the International Hunting Award. He had two children from this marriage: Kamyar (born 1952) and Sarvenaz Pahlavi (born 1955). His family resided in Florida, the US, and in Paris, France.

Before his marriage he had a relationship with actress Yvonne De Carlo, who he met when he visited Beverly Hills in 1947. A week later, they traveled to New York and spent some time together. After the completion of her film Casbah, on De Carlo's first trip to Europe, he reunited with her in Paris. They vacationed in Switzerland and Italy, and, several months later, De Carlo also visited the royal palace in Tehran.

Death Abdul Reza Pahlavi died in Florida on 11 May 2004.