Mohammad Reza I of Iran

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), widely known in the West as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the last Shah (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 1941 until his overthrow in the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Owing to his recognition and status as Iran's final monarch, he is usually known simply as the Shah. Mohammad Reza Shah took the title Shahanshah ("King of Kings") on 26 October 1967 and held several other titles, including that of Aryamehr ("Light of the Aryans") and Bozorg Arteshtaran ("Commander-in-Chief"). He was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi to rule within Iran. His dream of what he referred to as a "Great Civilization" in Iran led to a rapid industrial and military modernization, as well as economic and social reforms. Mohammad Reza came to power during World War II after the Anglo-Soviet invasion which forced the abdication of his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi. During Mohammad Reza's reign, the British-owned oil industry was briefly nationalized by the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh with support from Iran's parliament, until an Army coup d'état supported by the UK and the US deposed Mosaddegh, allowing the government to centralize power under the Shah, and brought back foreign oil firms under the Consortium Agreement of 1954. The Shah went on to become a dominant figure in OPEC, promoting a surge in oil prices that crippled Western economies. Mohammad Reza introduced the White Revolution, a series of economic, social, and political reforms aimed at transforming Iran into a global power and modernizing the nation by nationalizing key industries and land redistribution. The regime implemented many Iranian nationalist policies. The Shah initiated major investments in infrastructure, subsidies and land grants for peasant populations, profit sharing for industrial workers, construction of nuclear facilities, the nationalization of Iran's natural resources, and literacy programs which were considered some of the most effective in the world. The Shah also instituted economic policy tariffs and preferential loans to Iranian businesses which sought to create an independent economy for the nation.