List of Presidents of Iran

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Government of Islamic Republic of Iran

This is a list of the Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the establishment of that office in 1980. The President of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in the country. The current president is Hassan Rouhani, since 3 August 2013.

President of Iran position

The President of Iran is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The President is the highest ranking official of Iran. The President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state. Unlike the executive in other countries, the President of Iran does not have full control over anything, as these are ultimately under the control of the Supreme Leader. Chapter IX of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran sets forth the qualifications for presidential candidates. The procedures for presidential election and all other elections in Iran are outlined by the Supreme Leader. The President functions as the executive of the decrees and wishes of the Supreme Leader. These include signing treaties and other agreements with foreign countries and international organizations, with Supreme Leader's approval; administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, as decreed by the Supreme Leader. The President also appoints the ministers, subject to the approval of Parliament, and the Supreme Leader who can dismiss or reinstate any of the ministers at any time, regardless of the president or parliament's decision. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly chooses the ministries of Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as certain other ministries, such as the Science Ministry. Iran’s regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran’s ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Corps, which directly reports to the Supreme Leader.

Iran Country in Western Asia

Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With over 81 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. The country's central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center.

Universal suffrage Political concept

The concept of universal suffrage, also known as general suffrage or common suffrage, consists of the right to vote of all adult citizens, regardless of property ownership, income, race, or ethnicity, subject only to minor exceptions. In its original 19th-century usage by political reformers, universal suffrage was understood to mean only universal manhood suffrage; the vote was extended to women later, during the women's suffrage movement.

Contents

Background

After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution. [1] The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it. This was also approved in December 1979 constitutional referendum.

Iranian Revolution Revolution in Iran to overthrow the Shah replace him with Ayatollah Khomeini.

The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution or the 1979 Revolution, was a series of events that involved the overthrow of the last monarch of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and the replacement of his government with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a leader of one of the factions in the revolt. The movement against the United States-backed monarchy was supported by various leftist and Islamist organizations and student movements.

Ruhollah Khomeini 20th-century Iranian religious leader and politician

Sayyid Ruhollah Mūsavi Khomeini, known in the Western world as Ayatollah Khomeini, was an Iranian politician and marja. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the end of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution of the Islamic Republic as the highest-ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death. He was succeeded by Ali Khamenei on 4 June 1989.

Assembly of Experts

The Assembly of Experts —also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts— is the deliberative body empowered to designate and dismiss the Supreme Leader of Iran. However all directly-elected members after the vetting process by the Guardian Council still have to be approved by the Supreme Leader of Iran before gaining membership to the Assembly of Experts.

The 1979 Constitution designated the Supreme Leader as the head of state and the president and prime minister as the heads of government. The post of prime minister was abolished in 1989.

The first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25, 1980 and resulted in the election of Abulhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981 by Parliament. Until the early election on July 24, 1981, the duties of the president were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected president on July 24, 1981 and took office on August 2. Rajai remained in office for less than one month, with both he and his prime minister being assassinated on August 30, 1981. Once again, a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president.

Mohammad-Ali Rajai 2nd President of Islamic Republic of Iran

Mohammad-Ali Rajai was the second President of Iran from 2 to 30 August 1981 after serving as prime minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also minister of foreign affairs from 11 March 1981 to 15 August 1981, while he was prime minister. He was assassinated in a bombing on 30 August 1981 along with prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar.

Ali Khamenei Iranian Shiite faqih, Marja and official independent islamic leader

Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei is a marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously President of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the second-longest serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were each elected president for two terms. Hassan Rouhani is the current president, being elected in June 2013 presidential election. He won the reelection in the 2017 presidential election.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Iranian politician, Shia cleric and Writer

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was an influential Iranian politician, writer and one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic who was the fourth President of Iran from 3 August 1989 until 3 August 1997. He was the head of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 until 2011, when he decided not to nominate himself for the post. He was also the chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Mohammad Khatami Iranian prominent reformist politician, scholar and shiite faqih

SeyyedMohammad Khatami served as the fifth President of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. He was a critic of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 6th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an Iranian politician and statesman who served as the sixth President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country.

List

Islamic Republic of Iran (from 1979)

1st Constitution (19791989)

No.President
(Birth–Death)
PictureElectedTook officeLeft officePolitical partyPrevious office Prime Minister
The Council of the Islamic Revolution deputised during the interim (3 December 1979 4 February 1980).
1 Abolhassan Banisadr
(1933–)
Abolhassan Banisadr portrait 1980 1.jpg 1980 4 February
1980
22 June
1981
Independent Minister of Finance
(1979–1980)
Mohammad-Ali Rajai
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (22 June 1981 2 August 1981).
2 Mohammad-Ali Rajai
(1933–1981)
Mohammad-Ali Rajai 1981.jpg 1981 (Jul) 2 August
1981
30 August
1981
Islamic Republican Party Prime Minister of Iran
(1980–1981)
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (30 August 1981 13 October 1981).
3 Ali Khamenei
(1939–)
Portrait of Ali Khamenei, 1985 (2).jpg 1981 (Oct)
1985
13 October
1981
3 August
1989
Islamic Republican Party
(until 1987)
Member of the Parliament of Iran
(1980–1981)
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Combatant Clergy Association

2nd Constitution (from 1989)

No.President
(Birth–Death)
PictureElectedTook officeLeft officePolitical partyPrevious office First Vice President
4 Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
(1934–2017)
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani by Fars 02.jpg 1989
1993
3 August
1989
3 August
1997
Combatant Clergy Association Speaker of the Parliament of Iran
(1980–1989)
Hassan Habibi
5 Mohammad Khatami
(1943–)
Mohammad Khatami, 30th Memorial Ceremony of Ali Shariati - 26 June 2007 (15 8603310160 L600).jpg 1997
2001
3 August
1997
3 August
2005
Association of Combatant Clerics Minister of Culture
(1982–1992)
Mohammad-Reza Aref
6 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(1956–)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad portrait 2013 2.jpg 2005
2009
3 August
2005
3 August
2013
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran Mayor of Tehran
(2003–2005)
Parviz Davoodi
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Mohammad-Reza Rahimi
7 Hassan Rouhani
(1948–)
Hassan Rouhani.jpg 2013
2017
3 August
2013
Incumbent Moderation and Development Party Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
(1989–2005)
Eshaq Jahangiri

Timeline

Hassan RouhaniMahmoud AhmadinejadMohammad KhatamiAkbar Hashemi RafsanjaniAli KhameneiMohammad-Ali RajaiAbolhassan BanisadrList of Presidents of Iran

See also

Supreme Leader of Iran Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Supreme Leader of Iran, also referred to as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the Supreme Leadership Authority, is the head of state as well as the ultimate political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The armed forces, judiciary, state television, and other key government organizations are subject to the Supreme Leader. The current longtime officeholder, Ali Khamenei, has been issuing decrees and making the final decisions on economy, environment, foreign policy, education, national planning, and everything else in Iran. Khamenei also makes the final decisions on the amount of transparency in elections, and has dismissed and reinstated presidential cabinet appointees. The Supreme Leader directly chooses the ministers of Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as certain other ministers, such as the Science Minister. Iran's regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran's ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Corps, which directly report to the Supreme Leader.

Related Research Articles

Abolhassan Banisadr First President of Islamic Republic of Iran

Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr is an Iranian politician. He was the first President of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution abolished the monarchy, serving from 4 February 1980 until he was impeached by parliament on 20 June 1981. Prior to his presidency, he was the minister of foreign affairs in the interim government. He has resided for many years in France where he co-founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran. At age 86, Banisadr is currently the oldest living former Iranian President.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Iranian politician and architect

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest. Mousavi served as the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts until 2009, when Conservative authorities removed him.

Prime Minister of Iran former a political post in Iran

The Prime Minister of Iran was a political post in Iran that had existed during several different periods of time starting with the Qajar era until its most recent revival from 1979 to 1989 following the Iranian Revolution.

Interim Government of Iran (1981)

The interim government of the Islamic Republic of Iran was established after the assassination of Mohammad-Ali Rajai (President) and Mohammad Javad Bahonar on 30 August. In accordance with the constitution, a Provisional Presidential Council formed the same day and proposed Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani as Prime Minister to the Majlis. Majlis voted in favour of him on 2 September. His cabinet also received approval of the Majlis on 3 September. The main responsibility of this government was holding presidential elections. On 13 October, Ali Khamenei officially became president. His Prime Minister, Mir-Hossein Mousavi received Majlis's approval on 29 October and then the new government replaced Mahdavi-Kani's interim government.

July 1981 Iranian presidential election

The Iranian presidential election of July 1981 took place on 24 July 1981 after the previous Iranian president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was impeached by the Majlis on 21 June and then sacked by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, on 22 June. This led to the election of Mohammad Ali Rajai, the previous prime minister, winning approximately 12.9 million of the votes cast, which was 87-88% of the votes. The voter turnout was 65.29%.

Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani Iranian politician

Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani was an Iranian cleric, writer and conservative politician who was Acting Prime Minister of Iran from 2 September until 29 October 1981. Before that, he was Minister of Interior and Minister of Justice in the cabinets of Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. He was the leader of Combatant Clergy Association and Chairman of the Assembly of Experts and also founder and president of Imam Sadiq University.

A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 28 July 1989, alongside presidential elections. Approved by 97.6% of voters, It was the first and so far only time the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been amended. It made several changes to articles 5, 107, 109, 111, and added article 176. It eliminated the need for the Supreme Leader (rahbar) of the country to be a marja or chosen by popular acclaim, it eliminated the post of prime minister, and it created a Supreme National Security Council.

Timeline of the Iranian Revolution

This article is a timeline of events relevant to the Islamic Revolution in Iran. For earlier events refer to Pahlavi dynasty and for later ones refer to History of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article doesn't include the reasons of the events and further information is available in Islamic revolution of Iran.

Hafte Tir bombing

On 28 June 1981, a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran Islamic Republic Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti. The Islamic Republic of Iran first blamed SAVAK and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, Ruhollah Khomeini accused the People's Mujahedin of Iran. A few years later, a Kermanshah tribunal executed four "Iraqi agents" for the incident. Another tribunal in Tehran executed Mehdi Tafari for the same incident. In 1985, the head of military intelligence informed the press that this had been the work of royalist army officers. Iran's security forces blamed the United States and "internal mercenaries".

Prime ministership of Mir-Hossein Mousavi were the third and fourth government of Iran after the Iranian Revolution. At that time, Ali Khamenei was the president.

Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi (1985–89)

In August 1981, President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar were assassinated in an explosion. Ali Khamenei was then elected as the third president of Iran in the Iranian presidential election, October 1981. He put forward Ali Akbar Velayati as his prime minister, but the Iranian parliament did not give him the vote of confidence, and he was defeated with a vote of 80 to 74. Subsequently, Ali Khamenei, though he had strong disagreements with Mousavi, as a compromise with the left-leaning parliament, agreed to offer him, Mousavi, for the post of premier. On 28 October, the parliament approved Mousavi with a vote of 115 to 39. Mousavi became the 79th Prime Minister of Iran on 31 October 1981, and remained the prime minister of Iran until 3 August 1989, for eight years.

Government of Mohammad-Ali Rajai was the first government of Iran after the Iranian Revolution. At that time, Abolhassan Banisadr was president and Mohammad-Ali Rajai was prime minister.

Hassan Rouhani 7th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Hassan Rouhani is an Iranian politician serving as the current and seventh President of Iran since 3 August 2013. He was also a lawyer, academic, former diplomat and Islamic cleric. He has been a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts since 1999, member of the Expediency Council since 1991, and a member of the Supreme National Security Council since 1989. Rouhani was deputy speaker of the fourth and fifth terms of the Parliament of Iran (Majlis) and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005. In the latter capacity, he was the country's top negotiator with the EU three, UK, France, and Germany, on nuclear technology in Iran, and has also served as a Shi'ite ijtihadi cleric, and economic trade negotiator. He has expressed official support for upholding the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. In 2013, he appointed former industries minister Eshaq Jahangiri as his first vice-president.

Sadeq Tabatabaei Iranian politician

Sadeq Tabatabaei was an Iranian writer, journalist, TV host, university professor at the University of Tehran and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1979 to 1980. He was also Deputy Minister of the Interior and oversaw the referendum on establishing an Islamic Republic in March 1979. He was Iran's Ambassador to West Germany from 1982 until 1986.

Events from the year 1989 in Iran.

The following lists events that happened during 1981 in Iran.

Death and state funeral of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

On 8 January 2017, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth President of Iran and the country's Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council, died at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack. He was transferred unconscious to a hospital in Tajrish, north Tehran. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than an hour trying to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at 19:30 local time (UTC+3:30).

References

  1. "Assembly of Experts" . Retrieved 15 August 2009.