Hassan Alavikia

Hassan Alavikia was an Iranian military officer and intelligence chief, who along with Teymur Bakhtiar and Hassan Pakravan, co-founded the SAVAK, the intelligence agency of Iran during the Pahlavi era.

Early life

Hassan Alavikia was born on 1 December 1910 in Hamadan, Iran, the son of Abu Torab Alavikia, a wealthy land owner. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Lycée St. Louis in Isfahan and Tehran. In 1932, he entered Tehran Military Academy, from which he graduated as a lieutenant in 1934. He continued his academic education at the University of Tehran and Harvard University, graduating with degrees in judicial law and philosophy. He spoke fluent Persian, French, English, and German.

Political life

He served in the Iranian Army as deputy director of the Intelligence Department of the Army. In 1956, he left the Second Division, and became the first deputy director of the SAVAK with General Teymur Bakhtiar as its first director.
In 1962, he was appointed as head of the European Operations Division of the SAVAK by the Shah, which at the time was headquartered in Cologne, Germany. He retired from the military in 1967, and continued his professional career with the establishment of several successful businesses in both the agricultural and real estate industries.

Later years

In January 1979, he and his wife left Iran to visit their daughters in Paris, France where they were studying; however, due to the turmoil and start of the Iranian revolution, they were unable to return to Iran. He spent the remainder of his life in exile in Paris, France and Del Mar, California, where his three daughters and their families resided.

Family

On 6 December 1956, General Alavikia married Jila Pourrastegar, the daughter of Hossein Pourrastegar, a well-known Colonel in the Persian Cossack Brigade under Reza Shah. They had three children together.

Death

He died on 20 April 2013 in La Jolla, California, surrounded by his wife, three children, and five grandchildren.