Pahlavi, Reza Shah

(born March 16, 1878, Alasht, Qājār Iran—died July 26, 1944, Johannesburg, S.Af.) Shah of Iran (1926–41). An army officer, he rose through the ranks and in 1921 led a coup that overthrew the Qājār dynasty. He sought to bring order and end Iran's political chaos and its domination by Britain and Soviet Russia following World War I (1914–18). He constructed roads, schools, and hospitals, opened a university, and built the Trans-Iranian Railway.

He emancipated women, nationalized several economic sectors, and reduced the clergy's power. He often used repressive methods, which eventually cost him his popularity. During World War II (1939–45), fearing that Pahlavi might side with Germany, the U.S. and Britain occupied Iran. The Allies forced him to abdicate (1941) in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.