Eskandar Firouz ( – ) was an Iranian environmentalist and politician. He was the first director of the Department of Environment in Iran. He developed Iran's ecological conservation and management program.

Early life

Eskandar Firouz was born in 1926 in Shiraz to

Mohammad Hossein Mirza Firouz Prince Mohammad Hossein Mirza Firouz (1894–1983) KCVO (1919) was an Iranian prince of the Qajar dynasty. He was son of Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma and Princess Ezzat-ed-Dowleh daughter of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. Biography He was edu ...

(1894–1983), a

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

prince. His paternal grandfather was Abdolhossein Farmanfarma (1857–1939). He did his education outside Iran, first in Germany, then in the United States ( Lawrenceville Preparatory School) and later at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Career

As an environmental conservationist, in 1971, he championed the formation of Iran's Department of Environment. In his tenure as the Director of DOE, Iran developed and adopted the Environmental Protection Law, which is still in force. Firouz helped in creating the national parks, nature reserves, wildlife refuges and protected areas in Iran. He was appointed as the vice-president at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. Firouz was also a member of the presiding board of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1973–75. In 1977, he was elected as President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), a position that he never filled as the Shah forced the resignation of the government during the Revolution. Firouz was one of the three founding founders of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance – the “

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

”.

Personal life

Firouz married Iran Ala who is the daughter of

Hossein Ala Hosein Alā (; 13 December 1881 – 13 July 1964) was a prominent Iranian diplomat and statesman who held several key positions during the early 20th century, including two terms as Prime Minister. Background He was born in 1881 in Tehran and s ...

(1881–1964), Iran's prime minister from 1955 to 1957. He had two daughters named Anahita and Azar. He died on March 4, 2020, at the age of 93.

Notable works

*''The Complete Fauna of Iran'' *''Environment Iran'' *''The wetlands and waterfowl of Iran'' *''Memoirs of Eskandar Firouz''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firouz, Eskandar People from Shiraz Farmanfarmaian family 1926 births 2020 deaths Heads of Department of Environment (Iran) Iranian environmentalists Iranian botanists 20th-century Iranian people 21st-century Iranian people