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Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi
Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi
Iranian Ambassador to the Denmark
	In office; 1 March 1975 – 1 March 1979
Preceded by	Parviz Sepahboudi
Succeeded by	Abbas Amir-Entezam
Member of the Parliament of Iran
	In office; 15 January 1963 – 14 January 1975
Constituency	Kermanshah
Personal details
Born	13 December 1919; Isfahan, Sublime State of Persia
Died	1 October 2008 (aged 88); Paris, France
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Resurgence Party (1975–1978); New Iran Party (1963–1975);
Parents	Akhtar ol-Mulk (mother); Mohammad Ali Mirza (father);
Alma mater	Berlin University; Heidelberg University;

Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi (Persian: مهرانگیز دولتشاهی; 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^[1] and were progressive aristocrats.^[2] Her father was Mohammad Ali Mirza (also known as Meshkout Al Dowleh), majlis member and land owner.^[3]^[4] He was a member of the Qajar dynasty.^[5] Her mother was Akhtar ol-Mulk, daughter of Hidayat Quli Khan. Mehrangiz was the cousin of Esmat Dowlatshahi, fourth wife of Reza Shah.^[6]

Concerning the birth date and birthplace of Dowlatshahi there are some conflicting reports which were stated by herself.^[5] Abbas Milani states that she gave two different birth years, 1917 and 1919.^[5] The same is also reported by Abbas Milani in regard to her birth city, which was given as both Tehran and Isfahan.^[5]

Mehrangiz was one of the first Iranian girls who attended a co-education kindergarten.^[2] Then she graduated from the Zoroastrian School in Tehran.^[2] She held a bachelor's degree from Berlin University.^[3] She received a PhD in social and political sciences from Heidelberg University.^[3]

Career

Dowlatshahi worked at the social services organization and at the organization for support of prisoners.^[7] 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.^[7]^[8] The society offered training to women and advocated equal rights for them.^[3] She also launched adult literacy programs in southern Tehran.^[7] In 1951, she and activist Safeyeh Firouz met Mohammad Reza Shah to discuss the electoral rights of women in Iran.^[9] She was the director of the advisory committee on international affairs of the Women's Organization of Iran (WOI).^[10] In 1973, she was appointed president of the International Council of Women and her term ended in 1976.^[11]

Dowlatshahi was elected to the Majlis in 1963, being one of six female deputies.^[12] She served there until 1975.^[10] She represented Kermanshah at the Majlis for three terms.^[13]^[14] She significantly contributed to the passing of the family protection law in 1967 and to its expansion in 1974.^[13] She also served as the first minister of women affairs.^[15] She became the first woman ambassador of Imperial Iran to Denmark when she was appointed to the post in 1975.^[15]^[16]

Later years and death

Dowlatshahi was serving as the Iranian ambassador in Denmark when the 1979 revolution occurred. Soon after this incident she left the country and settled in Paris.^[7] She had a house in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, which was sold in 2016.^[17] She published a book entitled Society, Government, and Iran’s Women’s Movement in 2002.^[7] She died in Paris in October 2008.^[7]