Erwin David Rabhan - Misplaced Pages

American businessman (1926–2024)

Erwin David Rabhan
Born	(1926-09-09)September 9, 1926 Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Died	November 12, 2024(2024-11-12) (aged 98) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Education	University of Georgia (BSc)
Occupation	Businessman

Erwin David Rabhan (September 9, 1926 – November 12, 2024) was an American businessman from Savannah, Georgia.

Biography

Rabhan was born to a prominent Iranian Jewish family on September 9, 1926, in Savannah, Georgia, where he grew up. In 1943, he graduated from Benedictine Military Academy in Savannah. In 1949, he graduated from University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture.

He was a longtime friend of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and he served as the pilot for Carter's first campaign for governor of Georgia in 1970. Rabhan was imprisoned in Iran for nearly 11 years, from September 1979 to August 6, 1990. He was initially charged with breaking Iranian financial laws and then later charged with spying, though he was never officially charged. It was speculated that he was targeted due to his friendship with Carter. Rabhan described his lengthy prison experience as a "conscious coma... I feel like a real Rip van Winkle."

Rabhan arrived back in the U.S. on September 14, 1990, flying into Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. Former President Carter greeted him there upon his arrival. Carter had advocated for his friend's release from imprisonment, and referred to him as a "hostage" of Iran. He privately asked the U.S. State Department to declare him a hostage, but that was never done.

Rabhan wrote about his experiences in the 2004 book Conscious Coma: Ten Years in an Iranian Prison.

Rabhan died in Richmond, Virginia on November 12, 2024, at the age of 98.

References

"Iran Frees U.S. Prisoner Amid Conciliation Signs". The New York Times. September 15, 1990.
^ "Georgian returns home after 11 years in Iranian prison". UPI. September 15, 1990.
^ History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in Africa (1857–2009). Soyinfo Center. 2009. pp. 595–596. ISBN 9781928914259.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years, 1924–1974. Oxford University Press. 2010. pp. 165–167. ISBN 9780199781492.
^ "American Freed from Tehran Prison". The Washington Post. September 14, 1990.
"'I Feel Like A Real Rip Van Winkle' -- American Kept Hope 11 Years In Iranian Prison". Knight-Ridder. September 20, 1990.
"Carter Confirms Writing to Khomeini on Behalf of U.S. Hostages". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1988.
Conscious Coma: Ten Years in an Iranian Prison. Dream Catcher Publishing Incorporated. 2004. ISBN 9780972049566.
"Erwin David Rabhan". Bliley's. Retrieved January 15, 2025.

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Incidents after 1979	Assassination of Paul R. Shaffer and John H. Turner Iranian revolution Iran hostage crisis Timeline Guadeloupe Conference Operation Credible Sport Operation Eagle Claw Canadian Caper Jimmy Carter's engagement with Ruhollah Khomeini 1980 October Surprise theory Negotiations Algiers Accords America can't do a damn thing against us Beirut barracks bombings Khobar Towers bombing Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal Disappearance of Robert Levinson United States kill or capture strategy in Iraq United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil Kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi 2008 Naval dispute Filipino Monkey Project Cassandra Detention of American hikers United States diplomatic cables leak 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot Strait of Hormuz dispute RQ-170 incident MV Maersk Tigris 2016 Naval incident Nuclear program of Iran Timeline P5+1 Operation Merlin Charming Kitten Stuxnet Kidnapping of Hossein Alikhani Arrest of Meng Wanzhou Deportation of Iranian students at US airports May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone 2019 K-1 Air Base attack December 2019 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad 2020 Iran explosions 2021 Erbil rocket attacks 2021 Natanz incident February 2021 United States airstrike in Syria Leaked Mohammad Javad Zarif audiotape June 2021 United States airstrike in Syria July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident 2021 U.S.–Iran naval incident 2022 Erbil missile attacks 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes Seizure of Suez Rajan and St Nikolas Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (2023–present) 2024 Erbil attack Tower 22 drone attack Iranian interference in the 2024 United States elections
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Groups and individuals	Iran Action Group Iran–America Society Iranian Students Association in the United States National Iranian American Council Organization of Iranian American Communities United Against Nuclear Iran Farashgard Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Jundallah Kingdom Assembly of Iran National Council of Iran National Council of Resistance of Iran People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran Elliott Abrams Kaveh L. Afrasiabi Howard Baskerville William J. Fallon Brian Hook Joseph Macmanus Robert Malley Stephen D. Mull Erwin David Rabhan Jason Rezaian Scott Ritter Craig Wadsworth Michael R. White Roxana Saberi Saeed Abedini Saeid Aboutaleb Shahram Amiri Sirous Asgari Mahmoud Reza Banki Haleh Esfandiari Amir Mirza Hekmati Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Shahrzad Mirgholikhan Mohammad Hosseini Esha Momeni Mohammad Mosaddegh Baquer Namazi Siamak Namazi Sahar Nowrouzzadeh Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran Noor Pahlavi Trita Parsi Maryam Rajavi Abdolreza Shahlaei Ali Shakeri Masoud Soleimani Morad Tahbaz Kian Tajbakhsh Karan Vafadari Xiyue Wang Nizar Zakka Iranian Guantanamo Bay detainees Abdul Majid Muhammed
Related	1998 FIFA World Cup match Academic relations between Iran and the United States American Islam Anti-American sentiment in Iran Axis of evil CIA activities in Iran Copyright relations Death to America Dual containment Great Satan International Conference on Hollywoodism Iran and state-sponsored terrorism Iranian frozen assets Opposition to military action against Iran State Sponsor of Terrorism United States involvement in regime change United States and state-sponsored terrorism 650 Fifth Avenue Alavi Foundation Alborz High School American Institute of Iranian Studies American School of Isfahan Community School, Tehran Damavand College Iran Bethel School Iranzamin School Saint Peter Church, Tehran Tehran American School "Bomb Iran" Overthrow Not for the Faint of Heart
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