Reza Ghotbi

Reza Ghotbi (Persian: رضا قطبی; full name Abdorreza Ghotbi Gilani, Iranian; 5 April 1938 – 26 August 2024). He was a mathematician and a telecommunications engineer who headed the National Iranian Radio and Television during the Pahlavi dynasty.^[1]

Early life and education

A fervent nationalist from early childhood, while attending Firouz Kouhi primary school, Ghotbi joined the Pan-Iranist Foundation (not the Party) at the age 11, a year prior to what the regulations allowed. A fervent admirer of Mosaddegh and wholly devoted to the King, the feud between the two turned him off politics altogether. By age 15, at Alborz High School he instead focused on his classes, sports and scouting. He later studied telecommunications and mathematics in France at the Ecole Centrale and the Telecom Paris. Years later, he married Shahrzad Afshar in Tehran, in 1968, and had two children.

Career

Upon return to his country, Ghotbi taught mathematics at the Aryamehr University of Technology (later named Sharif University after the Revolution). He was then retained by the Plan Organization (Sazman-e Barnam-e) and asked to prepare a project for the establishment of a national Iranian television. Having finished the job, his intention was to pursue his passion and attend MIT in United States. However, he was asked to stay on and head the newly established National Iranian Television (NITV) which later, in 1971, merged with Radio Iran to become the National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT). He trained young professionals in various required fields and rapidly created a network of television centers covering most provinces throughout Iran. He gathered a team of highly qualified professionals thanks to which NIRT eventually became the most important broadcasting network in the region.

Within a year of running NITV he headed the annual Shiraz Arts Festival under the patronage of HIM the Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi and in later years, the Tous Festival in Mashhad and Festival-e Farhang-e Mardom (Festival of popular culture) in Isfahan.

At the NITV, Reza Ghotbi established Gorouh-e pazhouhesh-e Iran Zamin (Department for Research on Iran), Markaz-e hefz va eshaye-e musiqi-e Iran (Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music), Madressey-e āli-e cinema va television (School of Cinema and Television), Kargah-e musiqi-e koodakan va nojavanan (Music Workshop for Children and Young Adults), Kargah-e nemayesh (Theater Workshop), Majalley-e Tamasha (Tamasha magazine) and Entesharat-e Soroush (Soroush Publishing House), amongst others.

Twice during his career, he offered his resignation, butting heads with the intelligence services as he wouldn’t accept censorship in any programming. His final resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Amouzegar in 1978, shortly before he was replaced by Sharif-Emami.

Later years

Ghotbi left Iran several months after the onset of the Revolution. He resided in Paris for some years before settling in the United States^[2] but eventually moved back to Paris to be close to his children and grandchildren.

Ghotbi died of cancer in Paris, on 26 August 2024, at the age of 86.^[3][4]