Mehdi Hadji Moniri

Medhi Hadji Moniri was a civil aviation administrator and deputy minister of war. He worked with the Iranian Government under the king (Shah). He served as a commissioned air force officer (1940s–1970), and he was one of the earliest fighter pilots to serve on the Imperial Iranian Air Forces. He was shot down by Soviet fighters in 1963 during a mission and was held captive for three weeks. He also served as the personal pilot of Iranian royalty in the 1960s and early 1970s. Later in his life, he managed the largest civil aviation organization in the Middle East. He died of Alzheimers on Sept. 23, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.