Ali Ansari


Ali Massoud Ansari is the Professor in Modern History with reference to the Middle East at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he is also the founding director of the Institute for Iranian Studies.

Education and career

Ansari was educated at Col.Brown Cambridge School Dehara Dun, University College London, King's College London, and obtained his PhD from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
He is also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and sits on the Governing Council of the British Institute of Persian Studies. He is a regular speaker at conferences and events regarding Iran, including "Iran's New Parliament" at the New America Foundation. His work appears in The Guardian, The Independent, and the New Statesman, among other publications.

Honours

In March 2016 Ansari was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's National Academy for science and letters.

Family life

Ansari is the son of Mariam Dariabegi and Mohammad Ali Massoud Ansari, cousin of Farah Pahlavi. He married Marjon Esfandiary in 2010, after which he had a celebration held at Chatham House.

Selected bibliography