Reza Fallah

Reza Fallah was born on 15 September 1909 in Kashan, Iran.[1][2] He graduated from high school in Tehran.[2] He studied Petroleum Engineering at the University of Birmingham in England on a British Petroleum scholarship, receiving a PhD.[1][2]

In 1939, he returned to Iran and worked in the private sector.[2] He then taught and served as Dean of the Abadan Technical Institute.[2]

In the 1950s and 1960s, he served as general manager the Abadan Refinery, formerly owned by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.[1][3] He served as deputy chairman of the National Iranian Oil Company from 1974 to 1979.[1] During that time, he advised Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and essentially shaped Iran's oil policy.[1] He was also a co-founder of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).[3]

During the Iranian revolution of 1979, he accompanied the Shah into exile.[1] He refused to return to Iran, despite being summoned by Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan.[1][3] Indeed, he was on Ayatollah Khomeini's death list.[3]

He was married to Maheen Fallah (1919–2000).[1] They had three daughters: Lilly Fallah Lawrence and Gina "Kooky" Fallah.[1] A third daughter died in a car accident when they were living in Tehran.[2]

He died on 5 December 1982 in Windsor, near London, England.[1] He is buried in Brookwood Cemetery.