Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

  • Rafsanjani’s website
  • Sir Geoffrey Adams mentioned that the Rafsanjani family has ties to the Balli Real Estate Company alluding to corruption (in a discussion with our class on 22 April 2011)
  • Chairman of the Assembly of Experts (25 July 2007 – 8 March 2011)
  • Chairman of the Expediency Council (6 February 1988 – present)
  • Presidency was characterized by an “economy first” mindset
  • Fourth President of Iran (3 August 1989 – 2 August 1997)
  • Chairman of the Majlis (28 July 1980 – 3 August 1989)
  • Survived an Assassination attempt during which he was seriously injured (1980)
  • Minister of the Interior (6 November 1979 – 12 August 1980)
  • Married Efat Marashi (1958)
  • Family of wealth pistachio growers in Kerman province
  • Born 25 August 1934 (Bahraman, Iran)

In The News

Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ali Akbar Salehi

Vice President & Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Akbar Salehi

Vice President & Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Akbar Salehi

  • Appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (13 December 2010 as acting Minister, 30 January 2011 officially)
  • Appointed Head of Atomic Energy Organization by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (16 July 2009 – 23 January 2011)
  • Deputy Secretary-General of Organization of the Islamic Conference under Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (2007 – 2009)
  • Signed the Additional Protocol thus strengthening the IAEA’s authority (18 December 2003)
  • Appointed Permanent Representative of Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by President Mohammad Khatami (13 March 1997 –  22 August 2005)
  • Member of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy
  • Member of the Academy of Sciences of Iran
  • Chancellor of Sharif University of Technology (1982 – 1985 and 1989 – 1993)
  • Associate professor at Sharif University of Technology
  • PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 
  • BS from the American University of Beirut
  • Born 24 March 1949 (Karbala, Iraq)

In The News

Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grand Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

Grand Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

Grand Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

  • Assumed office 30 September 2009 (appointed by Khamenei)
  • Chief Justice of Iran (30 June 1999 – 30 June 2009)
  • Member of the Assembly of Experts and Member of the Expediency Council (1998)
  • Member of the Guardian Council (1996)
  • Founded the Institute for Islamic Jurisprudential Encyclopedia (1990)
  • Returned to Qom Seminary as an instructor (1984)
  • Leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (1981)
  • Returned to Iran and worked as an instructor at Qom Seminary (1979)
  • Reached the degree of Ijtihad (power to issue religious decrees) at the approval of Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Sadr (1978)
  • Arrested by Iraqi regime and held in custody for two months (1974)
  • Underwent religious studies in Najaf (1960)
  • Primary education in Alavi School in Najaf (school for Iranians residing in Najaf (1945)
  • Born 1948 (Najaf, Iraq)
Written Works
Hokumat-e Eslami (Islamic Government)
Jahanbini Eslami (Islamic Worldview)
Various articles on jurisprudence subjects
Khoms (Islamic levy on certain things)
Various intellectual articles
In The News

17/04/2011 –
Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mohammad Reza Rahimi

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi

  • Assumed office 25 September 2009
  • Head of Tehran Azad University Law School
  • Vice President of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (5 October 2005 – 13 September 2009)
  • Governor of Kurdistan Province (1993 – 1997)
  • Member of Parliament (1980 – 1992)
  • Claimed to hold a PhD from Oxford University, which is vastly disputed by many Iranian sources.
  • Claimed to have a PhD from Belford University
  • Alleged to be the head of a corruption band that became known as Fatemi Circle. This circle had an office on Fatemi street in Tehran.
  • Born 11 January 1949 (Qorveh, Iran)
In The News

17/04/2011 –
Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

Chief of Staff of the President of Iran Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

  • Assumed office 30 July 2009
  • First Vice President of Iran (17 July 2009 – 25 July 2009)
  • Head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (4 August 2005 – 17 July 2009)
  • Born 16 November 1960 (Ramsar, Iran)
In The News

Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Sixth President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

  • Assumed office 3 August 2005
  • Mayor of Tehran (20 June 2003 – 3 August 2005)
  • Governor of Ardabil (1 May 1993 – 28 June 1997)
  • Born 28 October 1956 (Aradan, Iran)
In The News

20/04/2011 –
Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan

General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan

  • Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force
In The News

Posted in Personal Profiles | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment