October 14, 2016
Ruhollah K. Ramazani, the University of Virginia professor often cited as the “dean of Iranian foreign policy studies,” has died at the age of 88.
Ramazani taught at the University of Virginia in Char-lottesville, Virginia, from 1953, upon receiving his doctorate there, until his retirement in 1998. He passed away last Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after suffering a fall in his house.
He is best known as a specialist in Iranian history and politics — especially the turbulent relationship between the US and Iran. Through all that turbulence, Ramazani maintained hope the two sides could reach an understanding.
Brantly Womack, one of Ramazani’s colleagues at U.Va., told The Daily Progress of Charlottesville that Ramazani wasn’t an apologist for the Iranian government, but a mediator who rejected the notion that the two nations could not coexist peacefully.
“His life was dialogue among civilizations and he very much emphasized that,” Womack said.
Ramazani left Iran in 1951 as it was in the midst of the political struggle over oil nationalization. He came to the university shortly thereafter, said William B. Quandt, a professor of politics at U.Va., and “immediately fell in love.” He began teaching classes on the politics of the Middle East just before receiving his doctorate.
He lived in central Virginia for the rest of his life with his wife, Nesta, who has written popular Persian cookbooks. The couple had four children — including U.Va. English professor Jahan Ramazani — and six grandchildren.
Jahan said he remembers his father’s “extraordinary drive and energy,” which allowed him to balance the work of analyzing complex political issues in the Middle East with the work of being a father, and then a grandfather.
“It was wonderful to see the blossoming of those parts of his personality — the humor, silliness and uncomplicated affection that a grandparent can have for a child,” Jahan Ramazani told The Daily Progress. “I felt fortunate that my kids [now 15 and 19] grew up in the same town and so could bask in his and my mother’s love, while in the process developing a cross-generational sense of history and culture.”
One of Ramazani’s students, Wilson Nathaniel Howell, entered the Foreign Service in 1965 and served as the US ambassador to Kuwait during the Gulf War.
Before taking Ramazani’s class, the Middle East was not Howell’s area of focus. “His course and our friendship had much to do with my subsequent Foreign Service specialization in the Arab world,” said Howell, who went on to teach at U.Va. and retired in 2015. “He was an excellent teacher with a capacity to engage his students with the societies he was discussing,” Howell said.
Quandt remembers Ramazani as “kind of an old-style gentleman” who was always immaculately dressed and well-mannered. Several people who knew him remember that he had the rare combination of diplomacy and straightforwardness — he was polite but no-nonsense.
His career at U.Va. included two terms as chairman of the politics department: from 1976 to 1982 and from 1992 to 1994.
In retirement, he was a frequent contributor to The Daily Progress opinion pages. Anita Shelburne, editorial page editor, said she remembers him as intellectually gifted, yet “one of the most genuinely humble people I’ve ever known. [He was] truly a kind man and a pleasure to work with. I’ll miss him deeply.”
He is survived by his wife, Nesta; four children: Vaheed, David, Jahan and Sima; and six grandchildren: Ariana, Allegra, and Annika Fiets; Gabriel and Cyrus Rody-Ramazani; and Anthony Ramazani.
