Ardeshir Zahedi with Iranian student at Salt Lake City airport
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Ardeshir Zahedi was born in Tehran in 1928 to former Iranian Prime Minister Fazlollah Zahedi. As a young adult, he came to the United States and attended USU (then the UAC), graduating with a degree in agriculture in 1950. He remained a close friend and associate of the university. He served as the first translator and assistant at the launch of the Point Four Program in Iran. He then went on to serve as the Iranian ambassador to the United States from 1960 to 1962 and later from 1973 until the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
In 1960 he accepted an honorary doctoral degree in law and humanities from then-president of the university, and close personal friend, Daryl Chase. Zahedi in turn awarded him the Order of the Taj, second class. Mr. Zahedi maintained a personal relationship with many USU presidents and recommended hundreds of Iranian students to the university. Ardeshir Zahedi retired to Switzerland until he passed away on November 18, 2021.
