Mohammad Amir Khatami

Mohammad Amir Khatami (Persian: محمدامیر خاتمی‎‎) (1920 – 12 September 1975), CVO, was the commander of the Iranian air force, advisor to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the second husband of Princess Fatimeh Pahlavi, half-sister of the Shah.

Khatami was born in Rasht in 1920. His father was a tea house owner and later dealt with real estate. His mother was a relative of Imam Jomeh, a significant religious figure in Tehran and a relative of Nasr ed Din Shah.

After graduating from the American High School in Tehran, Khatami then attended the military high school. In 1939, he began to study at the air force branch of the military college and graduated as a second lieutenant. Next he went to the United Kingdom and joined pilot training courses. He graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He was also trained at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, in the 1950s.

Shahpour Gholam Reza Pahlavi (left) and Mohammad Khatami

In 1946, Khatami was named personal pilot of the Shah. Days before the 19 August 1953 coup on 16 August, the Shah, accompanied by his second wife Sorayya Esfandiary Bakhtiari and Aboul Fath Atabay, escaped from Iran to Iraq and then to Italy by a plane aviated by Khatami. In 1957, Khatami was appointed chief of staff for the imperial air force. He succeeded Hedayat Gilanshah in the post following the latter's death in a plane crash. Khatami served in this post until his death in 1975.

In addition, he served as the chairman of the board of the Iranian National Airlines and chief of the council of the Civil Aviation Department. He was also co-owner of a construction company.

Khatami married twice. His first spouse was his cousin with whom he had a daughter. She was killed in an accident in 1954. Then Khatami married Princess Fatimeh Pahlavi on 22 November 1959, half-sister of the Shah. The Shah and his then fiancee Farah Diba attended the wedding ceremony.

They had two sons, Kambiz (born 1961) and Ramin (born 1967), and a daughter, Pari (born 1962).

A declassified CIA report argues that Khatami was close to Hossein Fardoust and Taqi Alavikia, and that they were part of a dowreh, or circle of associates. The dowreh, along with familial relations, was a significant element in the political functioning of Iran in the Pahlavi era. Until his death, Khatami raised his wealth to nearly $100 million.

Khatami died in a kiting accident on 12 September 1975 in Dezful. His death has been considered to be mysterious and the Shah was implicated in his death.

National honours

• Order of Humayoun, 1st class (Imperial State of Iran).

Foreign honours

• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order [CVO] (United Kingdom, 2 March 1961).
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Federal Republic of Germany, 21 October 1965).

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