Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Patrick Ali Pahlavi ( fa, پاتریک علی پهلوی; born 1 September 1947) is a member of the deposed

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and was

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

from 1954 to 1960. According to the former

constitution of Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...

Patrick was the first in the line of succession to the throne. In 1960, however, with the birth of

Reza Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi may refer to: * Reza Shah (1878–1944), Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran from 1925 until 1941 * Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, son of Reza Shah * Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran Reza P ...

, the latter became the heir apparent. If the Iranian monarchy were to be restored, he would become the heir presumptive to the throne. He famously said in an interview with Siavash Avesta "I am against all forms of dictatorship."

Early life

Born 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. Si ...

, Patrick Ali Pahlavi is a son of Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi and his wife Christiane Cholewski (or Choleski), a Frenchwoman,Ali Pahlavi. About, Biography
Facebook of Polish descent (although no record of his parents' 20 November 1946 wedding in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

, France, is on official record there). His father chose for him an Irish name popular in France, ' Patrick', and his mother chose for him a Muslim name, 'Ali', which made 'Patrick Ali' his full given name.. 21 November 2012 On his birth he was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost i ...

. Christiane had a son from a previous marriage, "Joachim Christian Philippe Pahlavi", born 15 September 1941. As his father was the second son of

Reza Shah , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...

, founder of the

and

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

of Iran, Patrick Ali is a nephew of

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 Octob ...

, the last Shah. His father was the

to his sonless brother's throne and following his death in a plane crash in 1954, Patrick Pahlavi succeeded him as heir presumptive. In February 1955, Prince Patrick Ali was at the centre of a dispute between his mother and his uncle,

the Shah. As heir to the throne, his uncle wanted him enrolled at the Maria Jose School in Switzerland to receive a "proper court education" while his mother wanted to take him to Paris so he would be closer to her. Because of the dispute, he was placed in "protective custody" with policemen guarding his suite at the Hotel Excelsior in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

until his mother gave into the Shah's demands and he was enrolled at the school. In March, Pahlavi's mother took him from his school without the Iranian embassy or the Swiss authorities knowing. In 1960, with the birth of a

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

for his uncle, Pahlavi lost his place as first in the line of succession to the Iranian throne. When he returned to Iran in the beginning of the 1970s, he spoke out publicly about the corruption of the regime of his uncle the Shah. In 1975, he was arrested and jailed at Evin prison, where he faced daily interrogations and psychological torture, including a fake execution.

Exile

Following 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 dyna ...

and overthrow of the Shah in early 1979, Pahlavi was the only prince to remain in Iran. He writes, "There, the Clergy was divided about me. There was those who saw in me the danger of a return to the Pahlavi and those who saw in me a possible solution. Four times I was brought to Evin prison again and four times my partisans released me." He left for

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

three days before he was due to go on trial where he might have faced a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

. Pahlavi studied and practiced a number of religions and spiritualities, including Taoism, Buddhism (Zen), Hinduism (Advaita), Judaism, Christianity and Islam over a forty-year period. Pahlavi was married in 1972 to Sonja Lauman; together they have three sons:Predecessors and short history
members.iinet.net * Prince Davoud Pahlavi (born 7 July 1972) * Prince Houd Pahlavi (born 26 November 1973) * Prince Mohammad Pahlavi (born 19 May 1976)

References

External links

Website of Patrick Ali Pahlavi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pahlavi, Patrick Ali Patrick Ali Mazandarani people 1947 births Living people French people of Iranian descent French people of Polish descent Nobility from Paris Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Switzerland Iranian people of Polish descent Iranian princes Iranian royalty Pahlavi pretenders to the Iranian throne French expatriates in Switzerland Iranian emigrants to Switzerland