Editor’s spotlight — updated daily
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran from 1941 until his overthrow in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. His White Revolution of the 1960s redistributed land and gave women the vote. His autocratic one-party rule and close ties to the West fueled opposition, leading to his exile. He died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Cairo on July 27, 1980.