Dariush Homayoon

Daryoush Homayoun (1928 – 2011) was an Iranian journalist, author, intellectual, and politician. He was the Minister of Information and Tourism in the cabinet of Jamshid Amouzegar, founder of the daily newspaper Ayandegan, and one-time high-ranking member of the Rastakhiz party. In exile, he became one of the founders of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran. He was famous for his analytical writings and largely impartial assessment of history. His outspoken manner, criticizing the Islamic Republic with harsh tones, but also directing his criticism at the Pahlavi policies, earned him the respect of many, while at the same time creating many enemies. He was one of the most influential Iranian opposition leaders in exile.

Youth
Homayoun was born in Tehran on 27 September 1928 and began his involvement in the political sphere at the age of fourteen. In his younger years he was a member of several Iranian parties, generally with nationalist views opposing the rise of leftist ideas and the influence of the Tudeh party, such as SUMKA. He began as a supporter of Mohammad Mossadegh but was imprisoned during Mossadegh's premiership.

Journalistic and political career
In the years following 1953, Homayoun finished his university studies, obtaining a doctorate in political science from the University of Tehran. After completing his Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, he took on the role of a field consultant in Asia for the New York office of the Franklin Book Programs. During this time, he conducted surveys to assess the distribution challenges in Malaysia and Indonesia.

He worked at the Iranian daily Ettelaat and later founded the highly successful daily newspaper Ayandegan. In the cabinet of Jamshid Amouzegar, he became the minister of information and tourism. Following the events leading up to the Iranian Revolution, he was arrested in November 1978, together with many other former officials, due to the allegations of corruption and power misuse. He escaped prison on 12 February 1979, just after the revolution, and went into hiding. Fifteen months later, he left Iran through the border with Turkey and went to Paris.

Exile
In exile, Homayoun, was an influential political analyst, writer, and opposition leader. In the nineties he initiated and helped create the Constitutionalist Party of Iran, a political party seeking to establish a liberal democratic Iran.

Personal life and death
Daryoush Homayoun was married to Homa Zahedi, sister of Ardeshir Zahedi. He died on 28 January 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 82.