Mr Khayami was invested in 2006 as a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I by decree of HRH Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro in recognition of his support to inter-religious and educational projects across Britain and Eastern Europe.Mr Khayami was further recognised by the Grand Master who promoted him to the rank of Knight Grand Cross within the British and Irish delegation in October 2011 in recognition of support of the Holy See and wider Catholic Church initiatives.
Mr Khayami was born in Mashhad, Persia on 7 January 1930. He was a self-made man and an accomplished entrepreneur and industrialist. He began his adult life with meager resources but went on to found the Iran National Company – the largest industrial complex in the Empire of Iran producing the popular Peykan cars in 1967 as part of a joint venture with the Hillman-Hunter company in England.
In 1979 the political upheavals in Iran resulted in the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, the collapse of the 2500 year old Persian monarchy and its replacement with a strict Islamic Republic. Mr Khayami and his family like so many others were forced into exile and settled in London and in the south of France from where he rebuilt his business interests and managed the distribution of Mercedes-Benz cars in Britain and the United States.
As a French national, Mahmoud Khayami continued his philanthropic and interfaith activities through The Mahmoud Khayami Foundation. He also became a collector of fine Persian art forming what became known as The Khayami collection. Mr Khayami’s cultural interests included the recording, preserving, and disseminating research on Persian history and civilisation. In 2001, he was unanimously elected as Chairman of the US-based Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation.
In 2004 Mahmoud Khayami was invested as a Knight of the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester by Pope Saint John Paul II in recognition of his work and support of the Holy See in war-torn parts of the world and to the Apostolic Nunciature in Britain. Mr Khayami had been also been decorated by several other states including by the late King Hussein I of Jordan.
In 2005, it was announced by the UK Department of Education and Skills that Mr Khayami continued his life long interest in education by becoming a sponsor of the UK Government’s Academy programme and made a multi-million pound sponsorship of two academies in Sheffield, Yorkshire in 2007. Both academies are run by a leading Anglican Church School Trust, United Learning, and this lead to a worthy collaboration between the Constantinian Order, an Anglican church schools trust and a leading Muslim educationist. Mr Khayami also supported a series of conferences at the Royal Institute for International Affairs on inter-religious harmony.
Mr Khayami was appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2011 for his services to education.
Mahmoud Khayami will be remembered in prayer at the next delegation mass for deceased members. We offer our sincere condolences to his family at this time. He will be greatly missed.