Shirin Ebadi

2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Shirin Ebadi arrived in Tehran when she was one year old — and has since been a resident of the Iranian capital. She completed her education at the Tehran University, studying at the Faculty of Law beginning in 1965.

After Dr. Ebadi received her law degree, she began to serve officially as a judge in March of 1969. While serving as a judge, she obtained a doctorate with honors in private law from Tehran University in 1971.

Shirin Ebadi held a variety of positions in the Justice Department. In 1975, she became the President of Bench 24 of Tehran’s City Court. She was one of the first women in the history of Iranian justice to have served as a judge.

Following the Islamic Revolution in February 1979, she was dismissed from her post and given clerical duties. In rejection of these conditions, she applied — and was approved — for early retirement.

In 1992, Dr. Ebadi succeeded in obtaining a lawyer’s license and set up a successful private practice. Her career as a lawyer included several high-profile defense cases.

She has written several books throughout her career, and had many articles published in Iranian journals.

Dr. Ebadi was born in the city of Hamedan in northwestern Iran in 1947. Her father, Mohammad Ali Ebadi, was one of the first lecturers in Iranian commercial law.