Hassan Alavikia

Hassan Alavikia (Persian: حسن علوی کیا, [hæsæn ælævikiːɒː]; 1 December 1912 – 20 April 2013) was a prominent general in the Pahlavi pre-revolutionary government of Iran and one of the co-founders of the SAVAK.

Early life
Hassan Alavikia was born on 1 December 1910 in Hamedan, 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 Second Lieutenant in 1934. He continued his academic education at the University of Tehran, and graduated with a degree in judicial law. He spoke fluent Persian, French, English and German.

Political Life
He served in the Iranian Army as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Investigation of the Intelligence Department of the Second Division (1949-1951). In 1956, he left the Second Division, and became Deputy Chief of the SAVAK (1956-1961) with General Teymur Bakhtiar as its first Director.

In 1962, his Majesty Mohamad Reza Shah Pahlavi, named General Alavikia as head of the European division of SAVAK (1962-1967),  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 the agricultural industry.

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 Islamic revolution, they were unable to return to Iran. He spent the remainder of his life in exile in Paris, France and Southern 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 Pahlavi. They had three daughters, Tannaz, Golnaz, and Farnaz.

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