His Imperial Highness Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran

His Imperial Highness Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran
(1924 - 2004)


His Imperial Highness Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran

From Conservation Force
by John Jackson III
H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza of Iran: Prince Abdorreza had more titles, credits and achievements than we have space for. He was the Founder and President of the International Foundation For The Conservation of Wildlife in Paris, which has been the most successful advocate of conservation through hunting in the world. (Abbreviated as "IGF" for International Foundation for the Conservation of Game as originally named.) No organization has served wildlife conservation through hunting or the international hunting community more. For example, it was IGF that established that hunting trophies of CITES Appendix I species were "recreational," not prohibited "commercial" trade at the Second Conference of the Parties, Conf. Res. 2.11. The Prince, through his Foundation, has funded the World Conservation Force Bulletin for eight years.

The Foundation continues to fund this publication and partner with Conservation Force around the world. It is working closely with Conservation Force in our joint campaign to save African lions and lion hunting. Dr. Philippe Chardonnet is the new Executive Director and chief scientist. Dr. Chardonnet oversaw the Survey of the African Lion, 2002.

The new President of the Prince’s Foundation is Comte Xavier de MONTBEL. He was Vice-President. Bertrand des Clers and I still serve on the Board. For more about the Foundation see www.wildlifeconservation.org. For more about the Prince’s unequaled hunting adventures, read ROYAL QUEST, The Hunting Saga of H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran, published by Safari Press.

The Prince established more than 20 million acres of reserves and parks in Iran alone. His father was His Imperial Majesty Reza Shah the Great, the father of modern Iran, which placed the Prince in the Shah of Iran line. In Royal Quest the Prince states: "Of all my accomplishments, I am proudest of my efforts to conserve wildlife and its habitat for future generations. Very early on, I became concerned about my own country’s wildlife and was in a position to assist in the creation of Iran’s first game laws and its first game department. I am proud that the game reserves I helped create have allowed Iran’s wildlife to survive a long period of turmoil. I am proud that because of my concern, the Persian fallow deer, the cheetah, and other species in Iran did not become extinct. I also am proud that my Paris-based foundation (International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife) has been able to contribute so much to conservation projects around the world. Nonhunters may never understand how I could simultaneously be a wildlife protector and a sport hunter. For hunters, however, there is no irony in this. Many of the world’s wild species would not exist today if hunters had not taken steps to conserve and protect them…. As President Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘The encouragement of a proper hunting spirit, a proper love of sport, instead of being incompatible with a love of nature and wild things, offers the best guaranty of their preservation.’ I am a firm believer in this."

The Prince began IGF with a personal donation, which his OPEC friends each separately matched. It is hard to imagine where the hunting community would be today without his Foundation. We’ll miss our inspirational friend and supporter.


H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran obituary from SCI, June 4, 2004
by Warren Parker
H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran (center) is shown with one of his many trophy animals.

On May 11, 2004, Safari Club International and the hunting world lost one of our great friends and supporters to cancer. Prince Abdorreza died in Florida (1924 - 2004).

His Highness was instrumental in supporting one of the world’s greatest conservation organizations in Europe - the C.I.C. He also was founder and benefactor of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife. Through his foundation, funding was provided for research, advising governments, training students, reintroducing wildlife, combating poaching, and protecting wildlife around the world. The Prince and his foundation believed in sustainable use of wildlife – conservation that includes hunting.

The Prince was the recipient of Safari Club International’s Hunting Hall of Fame in 1984, International Hunting award in 1988, and was the 7th winner of the Weatherby Big Game Award in 1962. He had taken over 260 varieties of big-game animals and more than 400 record-class trophies. His contemporaries were men like Jack O’Connor, Elgin Gates, Herb Klein, and C. J. McElroy.

He was instrumental in setting up game reserves and implementing game laws in his native Iran. His policies brought the wildlife of his country from its nadir in post WWII to unprecedented levels in the late 1970s. Many species benefited from these policies including the cheetah and the Persian fallow deer, not to mention the many different varieties of Iranian sheep.

Safari Club International will truly miss this great and kind man. We wish his wife of 50 plus years, Princess Pari Sima and his two children our best during this sad time.

I feel that I am lucky to have called Prince Abdorreza my friend and I will miss his smiling face.

The world was lucky that before he died he was able to see in print his only book “Royal Quest, The Hunting Saga of H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza of Iran” (2004) by Bill Quimby.


Royal Quest, The Hunting Saga of H.I.H. Prince Abdorreza of Iran