Born Shahpur Gholamreza Pahlavi, he was the son of Reza Shah Pahlavi and the half-brother of the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After attending school in both Iran and Switzerland, he graduated from Princeton University. After returning from college, he attended military officers’ training college, graduating as a brigadier general. He continued his service in the army and rose to the rank of lieutenant general in 1973.
