Farah Pahlavi

Her best-selling autobiography, "An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah" (2004) is translated to more than 54 languages.

The region of the Persian Gulf, which had known peace and stability in the time of the Iranian monarchy, has since descended into chaos, becoming a breeding ground for fanaticism and international terrorism. Since the appalling attack of 11 September, 2001 in New York, the whole world now looks upon the region with nothing but fear. We Iranian used to be so proud to show our passports when we crossed international borders. Today the suspicious way the authorities all over the world look at us chills our blood.