The Fleeting Nature of Power
Dr. Syed Amir
Bethesda , MD
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, was the first foreign head of state to visit Pakistan. On a State visit in 1950, the young monarch was accorded an enthusiastic welcome, and greeted in a lavish, colorful ceremony at the historic Shalimar Gardens, Lahore.
He visited Pakistan on a number of occasions afterwards and was always hailed as a great friend.
With the rise in the world’s consumption of oil and the consequent steep escalation in its price, the Shah became a commanding figure on the world stage, courted by powerful world leaders.
In 1974, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer went to see the Shah as he skied on mountain slopes in Switzerland to beg for a loan. The British newspapers lamented that the nature of their relationship had reversed. His hold on power seemed so steady that only months before the start of the revolution, President Carter stopped in Tehran on New Year’s Eve 1978 and pronounced that “ Iran, because of the leadership of Shah, was an island of stability in a trouble neighborhood.”
The Shah’s life story is a classic tale of how swiftly mighty rulers and empires can crumble and fall. Since his death in 1980, several books have been written about the Shah’s reign, his policies and especially his plight after he was forced out of the country following the takeover of Iran by followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. During his final year, the Shah himself wrote a book, Answer to History, defending his record, as did his wife, Farah Diba, who authored a personal autobiography, An Enduring Love. However, the most detailed and captivating account is provided by William Shawcross in a highly readable book, entitled The Shah’s Last Ride. Especially touching are the chapters dealing with the final year of the Shah’s life, when he was shunned by all former powerful friends.
The story is spread over four decades. The Shah who ascended the throne in 1941 when he was 22 years old progressively became autocratic and disconnected from his people. Some of his reforms angered the clergy, and there was general resentment against his repressive policies.
Finally, the regime collapsed, disintegrating like a house of cards. To his credit, the Shah declined to use deadly force to crush the opposition. There might have been another reason for his restraint: he had been suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. His illness, a closely guarded secret, might have sapped his energy and willpower to act forcefully to suppress the opposition. The Shah left the country for the last time on January 1979 with his wife and a few members of his dwindling staff.
As he left, he literally had no idea where he and his family would settle. Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and his wife had been personal friends of the family, and invited them to come to Egypt. Theirs would be the last sincere invitation the Shah would ever receive in exile from anyone. They were received at Aswan airport with all the trappings of a state visit, with President Sadat greeting the Shah with the reassuring words, “Rest assured Mohammad, you are in your country, with your people and brothers.” The King could not restrain his emotions and started to cry. His final destination, or so he thought, was the United States. Meanwhile, he received an invitation from King Hassan of Morroco to spend some time in his country.
King Hassan greeted the royal couple warmly, but they were not accorded the same royal treatment they had received in Egypt. Meanwhile, there were indications that the enthusiasm of the US Government to offer them asylum was quickly fading. Even worse, King Hassan started to worry that the Shah might overstay his welcome in his country. Moroccans did not want to displease the new revolutionary regime in Iran, and were also fearful of the reaction of the religious elements within their own country.
While the Shah and his advisors pondered their options, it was becoming clear that the US Government was not willing to admit them. Furthermore, the ailing Shah could not believe that the Moroccan king, whom he had known for a long time and helped financially, would not permit him to stay a while longer, but the signs were unmistakable. None of the countries where he would have liked to move were willing to take him -- Switzerland, Britain, France, Jordan all declined. Americans after extensive search came up with two willing countries, Paraguay and South Africa, neither of which greatly appealed to the Shah.
Not having any choice, the Shah agreed to move to South Africa. At the last minute, two of his influential supporters in America, Henry Kissinger and Nelson Rockefeller, who had failed in their previous attempts to find him a safe haven in the US, came up with another country, the Bahamas. The Shah was quietly moved to the island of Nassau, where he and his family were lodged in a tiny house where barely three persons could sleep. Now, the Iranian Government was insisting that the Shah should be extradited to face prosecution for treason and a certain death. As the Shah’s health deteriorated, President Carter finally relented and allowed him to enter the US for medical treatment.
The news of the Shah’s admission to the US enraged the Khomeini government. The American Embassy in Tehran was stormed and the diplomats taken hostage. Unnerved, the US Government urged the Shah to leave the US promptly, hoping that it would help free their hostages. This time, the Shah was shipped to Panama, a country under US influence that was ruled by an impulsive, unscrupulous dictator, Omar Torrijos. The Shah’s staff became concerned that Torrijos might be negotiating to extradite him to Iran in exchange for freedom of the hostages. Meanwhile, the Shah was getting sicker while his doctors, Panamanians and Americans, bitterly squabbled about who was in charge.
Abandoned by friends and in despair, the Shah, whose word not so long ago was law, had only one true friend left, President Anwar Sadat who had been asking them all along to come back to Egypt. On arrival at Cairo airport, they were received by the Egyptian president and his wife and were lodged at the sumptuous Kubbah palace. The Shah died peacefully on July 27, 1980, and was buried with full state honors at the el-Rifa’i mosque, alongside his former brother-in-law, the last King of Egypt, Farouk.
After a year of peripatetic existence, the last Shah of Iran had finally found peace which had eluded him for so many years.
