Mostafa Mesbahzadeh

Mostafa Khan Mesbahzadeh (August 18, 1908 – December 25, 2006) was an Iranian Publisher, President of Kayhan Media Corporation, Founder of the Iranian College of Press and Communication ("Daneshkadeh-ye Matbou'at va Oloum-e Ejtema'i", ), University Professor, Member of Parliament and Senator, Member of the Senate of Iran.

Together with Abdolrahman Faramarzi, Mesbahzadeh co-founded in 1942 the daily newspaper Kayhan. Dr. Mostafa Mesbahzadeh turned Kayhan into the largest media group in the Middle East, with daily and weekly publications, magazines dedicated to youth, to sports (Kayhan-e Varzeshi), to children (Kayhan-e Bachcheha), to women (Zan-e Rouz), and international edition in English (Kayhan International).

Background
Mostafa Mesbahzadeh was born on 18 November 1908 in Shiraz. He was one of the students sent to Europe by the Iranian government during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi. He returned to Iran after obtaining a doctorate in criminal law from Sorbonne University in 1936 and began teaching at the University of Tehran.

In 1942, Dr. Mesbahzadeh founded Kayhan with the help of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

After the revolution, the Kayhan newspaper was confiscated by the revolutionary government. Mesbahzadeh, who was living in London at the time, gathered a number of writers and journalists who had fled the country to publish a weekly newspaper called Kayhan-in-exile; it was later known as Kayhan London.

After a long period of illness, Mostafa Mesbahzadeh died on 25 November 2006 in San Diego.