George Malek-Yonan (1924-2014) was an

Iranian Assyrian Assyrians in Iran ( syr, ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ܕܐܝܼܪܵܢ), ( fa, آشوریان ایران), are an ethnic and linguistic minority in present-day Iran. The Assyrians of Iran speak Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, a neo-Aramaic language descended from Classical ...

international attorney, politician and athlete, and father of actress

Rosie Malek-Yonan Rosie Malek-Yonan (b. July 4, 1965) is an Assyrian-American actress, author, director, public figure and activist. Malek-Yonan became a noted pianist at an early age. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge, she settled in the United ...

Biography

The

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n Malek family claims to trace its roots back eleven centuries. During the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish t ...

of 1914–1918, Malek-Yonan's family fled to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, in the Great Exodus from Urmia where he was born on 11 October 1924. When still a young child, his family migrated back to Iran and finally settled in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. His parents were Yosip (Joseph) and Suriya, both Assyrian. His older sister, Florence, was Knighted in the early 70s and lived in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where she died on 18 February 2007. His older brother, David, was an engineer in Iran who built many of Iran's major freeways and roadways as well as numerous silos in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. His younger brother, Cyrus, left Iran for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

when he was only seventeen to study at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and eventually settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Malek-Yonan married Lida Bet-Benyamin, also of Assyrian descent, in Tehran in 1950 and has two daughters: Monica Malek-Yonan and

, the author of ''The Crimson Field'' and also a cast member of the long-running television series ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. Malek-Yonan studied at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

's Law School, earning a Law Degree in 1946 and a Degree in Political Science in 1947. In 1964 he studied law at Golden Gate Law School in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. He practiced

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

for more than fifty years representing many of the American, European and Asian corporations in Iran. He was the attorney for the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the American hostage takeover. He moved to the U.S. after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

. The Malek-Yonan family has produced many great sons and daughters. Dr. Jesse Malek-Yonan represented the Assyrians of Urmia at the

Peace talks in 1919; Milton Malek-Yonan inventor of Malekized Rice; Shushan Malek-Yonan author of a children's book (1927) published in Tabriz, Iran; Rev. Isaac Malek-Yoninan author of several books and essays including ''The Beloved Physician of Teheran'' (1933) and ''Persian Women'' (1898); Norman Malek-Yonan author of ''The Christmas Story'' (1958);

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

, Oscar-nominated director and writer of ''The New World'' (2005), ''The Thin Red Line'' (1998), ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), ''Badlands'' (1973). Malek-Yonan died on 14 November 2014 in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Sports

Three gold medals presented at Mar-Mar Palace in Tehran by the former

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

, earned George Malek-Yonan the title of Champion of Champions in Iranian Sports in the fields of track and field, pentathlon and soccer, bringing the total of medals awarded to him to 47. His brother, David, was also awarded numerous gold medals by the Shah. Malek-Yonan played high school soccer, basketball and volleyball. After a chance encounter with Iran's track and field coach, Ahmad Izadpanah, at Amjadieh Stadium (today known as

Shahid Shiroudi Stadium The Shahid Shiroudi Stadium () formerly known as Amjadiyeh Stadium is a sports stadium in Tehran, Iran. It is currently used for athletics and held football matches until 2009. The stadium is able to seat 30,000 people and was opened in 1942. I ...

), Malek-Yonan became interested in track and field. In 1934 Izadpanah had begun organizing various track and field meets and by 1936, the Iranian Athletics Federation was established and Iran joined the

International Amateur Athletics Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Malek-Yonan first competed in the long jump and triple jump in 1944 (1323) where he earned two silver medals. The same year he participated in Iran's University competitions in the long jump, the triple jump, javelin and shot put, earning four more silver medals. While studying law at Tehran University, he won a gold medal in table tennis in 1946 (1325) and was a member of the University of Tehran Soccer, Volleyball and Basketball teams. Malek-Yonan was the most decorated athlete at Iran's 1948 (1327) National Athletic Competitions, earning him the title of Champion of Champions. He was the only athlete in 1948 to have received a gold medal as well as winning the Track and Field Cup. He competed in the pentathlon (2 x 100 meters, 1,500 meters, javelin, discus and long jump), as well as the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump, winning four gold medals and earning first place at the 1948 Olympic Games Qualifiers. However he did not compete at the Olympics.

Records

Malek-Yonan's 1948 (1327) record: *100 Meters, 11/5 Seconds, Event: National Championship, Gold Medal *200 Meters, 24/4 Seconds, Event: National Championship, Gold Medal *Long Jump, 7/55 Meters, Event: National Championship, Gold Medal *Pentathlon, 2305, Event: National Championship, Gold Medal Malek-Yonan's 1950 (1329) record: *Long Jump, 6/43 Meters, Event: National Championship *At the Eastern Mediterranean Cup Championship he took the bronze medal in the 200 Meters, but came in fifth place in the Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Politics

A leading international attorney, George Malek-Yonan was responsible for procuring a seat for Assyrians as a recognized minority in the

Iranian Parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...

, thus giving Assyrians and Chaldeans a political voice in Iran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malek-Yonan, George 1924 births Iranian Assyrian people Assyrian sportspeople People from Urmia Golden Gate University School of Law alumni University of Tehran alumni Iranian Assyrian politicians 2014 deaths Iraqi emigrants to Iran

Biography

Sports

Records

Politics

See also

References