Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi
Founder
The Shahbanou was born in Tehran on October 14, 1938, the only child of Mr. Sohrab Diba and Faride Ghotbi Diba. She studied architecture in Paris before marrying the King, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, in 1959.
In the 1960s and ‘70s she traveled widely within Iran to support her husband’s social and economic reforms to advance the rights of women and children, the disabled and the handicapped, culture and the arts, science, and medicine, and architecture and the environment. Under the patronage of the Farah Pahlavi Foundation, she financially supported a network of museums, art centers, and dozens of charities.
She worked tirelessly to champion Iranian culture and the arts and to encourage community-based village enterprises to revitalize traditional handicrafts. She established a series of landmark events to celebrate contemporary and modern Iranian art and culture including the Shiraz Festival of Arts, the Isfahan Festival of Popular Traditions, the Kerman Traditional Music Festival, the Tehran International Film Festival, and the Children’s Film Festival.
Empress Farah spearheaded an effort to promote children’s literacy by establishing children’s libraries in the cities and the countryside. She put her training as an architect to good use when she lobbied to save historic buildings from demolition, and by preserving open land from development so that parks and green spaces became a feature of crowded urban centers. She headed up the South Tehran Redevelopment Corporation which aimed to alleviate poverty and improve living conditions in Tehran southern suburbs.
She broke many barriers during her two decades on the throne as Iran’s first crowned female sovereign and the first woman crowned in the Muslim world. As her husband’s ambassador abroad, she represented Iran in countless countries delivering major policy addresses and attending international conferences. She is most proud of her ground-breaking work on behalf of Iran’s lepers for whom she helped create a model community, where they were educated, earned a working wage and received medical treatment. Her efforts were recognized internationally as a force for progressive change. On January 16, 1979, she and the Shah left Iran for exile. Today she divides her time between France and the United States where her children and grandchildren live. She continues to work and speak out on behalf of her signature causes and is an enthusiastic supporter of Iranian artists and writers. She closely follows events back in Iran and is in daily contact with compatriots who write and express their support and friendship. She has received numerous honorary doctorates and diplomas from many international institutions. She is also the recipient of numerous awards for her humanitarian efforts.
Bruno Ferreira
Chairman
Bruno Ferreira is Managing Partner of PLMJ, Lisbon and co-heads the Responsible Business team acting on sustainability focused projects and community engagement. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Gulbenkian Digital Shift.
Azadeh Ghotbi
Culture & Arts Commission
Azadeh Ghotbi is a painter and photographer and an alumna of Brown University and INSEAD. She heads the Culture & Arts Commission
Bernardo Afonso
Director
Bernardo Afonso has an extensive career in banking, edtech sectors and public service. He became a Board Member and CFO at Code For All Group, a Non-Executive Director at Maze Impact and a Board Member at CFA Society Portugal. He is also an angel investor and lectures at University of Oxford.
François Maisonrouge
Advisory Council
François Maisonrouge is the Chairman of the Pasteur Foundation and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Harvard Business School Health Care Initiative. He was awarded France’s Ordre National du Mérite and is a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
Hooman Askary
Operations Manager
With a background in media and communications, Hooman Askary has previously served as a journalist, TV and radio presenter and social media lead at international news and media organisations.
