Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi (; 13 December 1919 – 11 October 2008) was an Iranian social activist and politician, who held significant positions, including ambassador of Iran to Denmark during the Pahlavi era. She also served as a member of the Majlis for three terms.

Early life and education

Her family were major land owners based in

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

and were progressive aristocrats. Her father was Mohammad Ali Mirza (also known as Meshkout Al Dowleh), majlis member and land owner. He was a member of the

Qajar dynasty The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...

. Her mother was Akhtar ol-Mulk, daughter of Hidayat Quli Khan. Mehrangiz was the cousin of

Esmat Dowlatshahi Esmat ol-Molouk Dowlatshahi (; 1905 – 25 July 1995) was an Iranian royal and the fourth and last wife of Reza Shah. Early life Dowlatshahi was born in 1905. She was a member of the Qajar dynasty. Her father was Gholam Ali Mirza "Mojalal Dowleh ...

, fourth wife of

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

. Concerning the birth date and birthplace of Dowlatshahi there are some conflicting reports which were stated by herself.

Abbas Milani Abbas Malekzadeh Milani (; born 1949) is an Iranian-American historian, educator, and author. Milani is a visiting professor of political science, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University ...

states that she gave two different birth years, 1917 and 1919. The same is also reported by Abbas Milani in regard to her birth city, which was given as both Tehran and Isfahan. Mehrangiz was one of the first Iranian girls who attended a

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

kindergarten. Then she graduated from the Zoroastrian School in Tehran. She held a bachelor's degree from

Berlin University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...

. She received a PhD in social and political sciences from

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

Career

Dowlatshahi worked at the social services organization and at the organization for support of prisoners. She established ''Jama’at-i Rah-i Naw'' (Persian: The New Path Society) in 1954, which later became part of the International Women's Syndicate. The society offered training to women and advocated equal rights for them. She also launched adult literacy programs in southern Tehran. In 1951, she and activist Safeyeh Firouz met

Mohammad Reza Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, which ...

to discuss the electoral rights of women in Iran. She was the director of the advisory committee on international affairs of the Women's Organization of Iran (WOI). In 1973, she was appointed president of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

and her term ended in 1976. Dowlatshahi was elected to the

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

in 1963, being one of six female deputies. She served there until 1975. She represented

at the Majlis for three terms. She significantly contributed to the passing of the family protection law in 1967 and to its expansion in 1974. She also served as the first minister of women affairs. She became the first woman ambassador of Imperial Iran to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

when she was appointed to the post in 1975.

Later years and death

Dowlatshahi was serving as the Iranian ambassador in Denmark when the

1979 revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

occurred. Soon after this incident she left the country and settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. She had a house in Great Falls,

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, USA, which was sold in 2016. She published a book entitled ''Society, Government, and Iran’s Women’s Movement'' in 2002. She died in Paris in October 2008.

Awards and honors

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(Denmark; 14 February 1979) In 1997, Dowlatshahi was named as the woman of the year by the Iranian Women's Studies Foundation in the United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowlatshahi, Mehrangiz 20th-century Iranian women politicians 20th-century Iranian diplomats 21st-century Iranian women writers 1919 births 2008 deaths Ambassadors of Iran to Denmark Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Heidelberg University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Iranian emigrants to France Iran Novin Party politicians Iranian women activists Iranian women ambassadors Iranian women's rights activists Leaders of organizations Members of the 21st Iranian Majlis Members of the 22nd Iranian Majlis Members of the 23rd Iranian Majlis Politicians from Isfahan People of the Iranian Revolution Qajar princesses Rastakhiz Party politicians Government ministers of Iran International Council of Women people Women in the Iranian Revolution