Eskandar Firouz (August 7, 1926 – March 4, 2020) was an Iranian environmentalist and politician. He was the first director of the Department of Environment in Iran. He developed Iran's ecological conservation and management program.
Eskandar Firouz | |
|---|---|
.JPG) In 2006 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister Head of Environment Organization | |
| In office 1972–1977 | |
| Monarch | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Prime Minister | Amir-Abbas Hoveyda |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Manouchehr Feyli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 7, 1926 Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran |
| Died | March 4, 2020 (aged 93) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Spouse | Iran Ala |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Mohammad Hossein Mirza Firouz Safiyeh Namazi |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Conservational Environmentalist |
Early life
editEskandar Firouz was born in 1926 in Shiraz to Mohammad Hossein Mirza Firouz (1894–1983), a Qajar prince. His paternal grandfather was Abdolhossein Farmanfarma (1857–1939).[1]
He did his education outside Iran, first in Germany, then in the United States (Lawrenceville Preparatory School) and later at Yale University.[2]
Career
editAs an environmental conservationist, in 1971, he championed the formation of Iran's Department of Environment. In his tenure as the Director of DOE, Iran developed and adopted the Environmental Protection Law, which is still in force.[3]
Firouz helped in creating the national parks, nature reserves, wildlife refuges and protected areas in Iran. He was appointed as the vice-president at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972.[4] Firouz was also a member of the presiding board of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1973–75.[5] In 1977, he was elected as President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), a position that he never filled as the Shah forced the resignation of the government during the Revolution.[6]
Firouz was one of the three founding founders of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance – the “Ramsar Convention”.[7]
Personal life
editFirouz married Iran Ala who is the daughter of Hossein Ala (1881–1964), Iran's prime minister from 1955 to 1957. He had two daughters named Anahita and Azar. He died on March 4, 2020, at the age of 93.
Notable works
edit- The Complete Fauna of Iran[8]
- Environment Iran
- The wetlands and waterfowl of Iran
- Memoirs of Eskandar Firouz
References
edit- ^ "OBITUARY: Eskandar Firouz, Founder of Iran's Department of Environment, Dies at 93". KAYHAN LIFE. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
- ^ Firouz, Eskandar; فیروز, اسکندر (June 2012). خاطرات اسکندر فیروز: Memoirs of Eskandar Firouz. ISBN 978-1588140883.
- ^ Firouz, Eskandar; Secretary-General (October 1968). "Field studies in Iran". Biological Conservation. 1 (1): 88. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(68)90036-0. ISSN 0006-3207.
- ^ "Eskandar Firouz, father of Iran's environment protection, dies at 93". Tehran Times. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
- ^ "Welcome and Opening Address: H. E. Mr. Eskandar Firouz, Deputy Prime Minister and Director, Department of the Environment, Iran". Proceedings of an International Meeting on Ecological Guidelines for the use of Natural Resources in the Middle East and South West Asia held at Persepolis, Iran 24-30 May 1975 (PDF). IUCN publications. Morges, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 1976. pp. 7–10.
- ^ "Iranian environmentalism: Its origins and evolution". Atlantic Council. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
- ^ Senior, Kerrine Olivia McDonald. An examination of the implementation of the Cartagena (wider Caribbean), Marpol and Ramsar Conventions in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. OCLC 939923893.
- ^ "Eskandar Firouz". WorldCat Identities.