Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Akbar Hashemi Bahramani (Rafsanjani)
President of Iran
In office 3 August 1989 – 2 August 1997
Vice President	Hassan Habibi
Preceded by	Ali Khamenei
Succeeded by	Mohammad Khatami
Chairman of the Assembly of Experts
Incumbent
Assumed office  25 July 2007
Preceded by	Ali Meshkini
Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council
Incumbent
Assumed office  6 February 1988
Preceded by	Ali Khamenei
Chairman of the Parliament of Iran
In office 28 July 1980 – 3 August 1989
President	Abolhassan Banisadr Mohammad-Ali Rajai Ali Khamenei
Prime Minister	Mohammad-Ali Rajai Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani (acting) Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Leader	Ruhollah Khomeini Ali Khamenei
Preceded by	Yadollah Sahabi
Succeeded by	Mehdi Karroubi
Born	August 25, 1934 (1934-08-25) (age 76) Nough, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Executives of Construction Party
Spouse(s)	Efat Marashi(m. 1958)[1]
Children	Mohsen Hashemi(b. 1959) Fateme Hashemi(b. 1961)Faezeh Hashemi(b. 1962)Yaser Hashemi(b. 1963)Mehdi Hashemi(b. 1965)
Religion	Usuli Twelver Shia Islam
Website	Official Website

Ayatollah^[2] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Persian: اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, Hashemi Bahramani (هاشمی بهرمانی); born August 25, 1934) is an influential Iranian politician, writer, who was the fourth President of Iran. Currently he holds the position of Chairman of the Assembly of Experts^[3] (a deliberative body of Mujtahids that is charged with electing, monitoring, and dismissing the Supreme Leader of Iran) and Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran (an unelected administrative assembly that resolves legislative conflicts between the Majlis (Parliament) and the Council of Guardians).

Rafsanjani served as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997. In 2005 he ran for a third term in office, placing first in the first round of elections but ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the run-off round of the 2005 election. He was also elected as the Chairman of Iranian parliament in 1980 and served till 1989. In 1980, Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured.

Rafsanjani has been described as a centrist and a "pragmatic conservative". He supports a free market position domestically, favoring privatization of state-owned industries, and a moderate position internationally, seeking to avoid conflict with the United States and the West.^[4]

As president, Rafsanjani was credited with spurring Iran's reconstruction following the 1980-88 war with Iraq.^[5] He was also accused of corruption by both conservatives^[6] and reformists,^[7] and known for tough crackdowns on dissent. Post-presidency, Rafsanjani delivered a sermon at Tehran University in the summer of 1999 praising government use of force to suppress student demonstrations.^[8] In more recent years, Rafsanjani has advocated freedom of expression, tolerance and civil society. In a speech on July 17 2009, Rafsanjani criticized restriction of media and suppression of activists, and put emphasis on the role and vote of people in the Islamic Republic constitution.^[9][10][11] The event has been considered by analysts as the most important and most turbulent Friday prayer in the history of contemporary Iran.^[12] Nearly 1.5-2.5 million people attended the speech in Tehran.^[13]

According to one of their disillusioned members, Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, Rafsanjani is one of the founders and a chief financial supporter of the conservative Islamic group Ansar-e Hezbollah.^[14]

Personal life

Rafsanjani was born in the village of Bahraman near the city of Rafsanjan in Kerman Province to a wealthy family of pistachio farmers.^[15] He has eight siblings.^[16]

From his marriage to Effat Mar'ashi in 1958, Rafsanjani has three sons: Mohsen, Mehdi, and Yasser, as well as two daughters, Fatemeh and Faezeh. Only Faezeh Hashemi chose a political life, which led to her becoming a Majlis representative and then the publisher of the newspaper Zan (woman).

Chairman of Parliament

Rafsanjani was the Chairman of Parliament of Iran for 9 years. He was elected for Chairman in 1980 in the First Season of Parliament after Iranian Revolution. He was also chairman in Second Season. After the Death of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Islamic Republic, he joined 1989 presidential race and Became President, leaving Parliament.

Presidency

Rafsanjani adopted an "economy-first" policy, supporting a privatization policy against leftist economic tendencies in the Islamic Republic.^[17] Another source describes his administration as "economically liberal, politically authoritarian, and philosophically traditional" which put him in confrontation with more radical deputies in the majority in the Majles of Iran.^[18]

Domestic policy

Rafsanjani with General Ali Sayad Shirazi

Rafsanjani advocated a free market economy. With the state's coffers full, Rafsanjani pursued an economic liberalisation policy.^[19] Rafsanjani's support for a deal with the United States over Iran's nuclear program and his free-market economic policies contrasted with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies, who advocate maintaining a hard line against Western intervention in the Middle East while pursuing a policy of economic redistribution to Iran's poor.^[20] By espousing World Bank inspired structural adjustment policies, Rafsanjani desired a modern industrial-based economy integrated into the global economy.^[21]

Rafsanjani urged universities to cooperate with industries. Turning to the quick pace of developments in today's world, he said that with "the world constantly changing, we should adjust ourselves to the conditions of our lifetime and make decisions according to present circumstances".^[22] Among the projects he initiated are Islamic Azad University.^[23][24]

During his presidency, a period in which Rafsanjani is described by western media sources as having been the most powerful figure in Iran, the judicial system of Iran executed political dissidents, drug offenders, Communists, Kurds, Bahais, and clerics.^[8]

On the Iranian Mojahdcin, he said (Ettela'at, October 31, 1981):

Foreign policy

Following years of deterioration in foreign relations under Khomeini during the Iran-Iraq war, Rafsanjani sought to rebuild ties among Arab states,^[25] as well as with countries in Central Asia, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.^[26] However, relations with European countries and the United States remained poor, even though Rafsanjani has a track record of handling difficult situations and defusing crises.^[27]

He condemned both the United States and Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. After the war he strove to renew close ties with the West, although he refused to lift Khomeini's fatwa against the British author Salman Rushdie.^[28]

Rafsanjani has said that Iran is ready to assist Iraq, "expecting nothing in return". On the other hand, he has said that "peace and stability" is a function of the "evacuation of the occupiers."^[29]

Iran gave humanitarian help to the victims of the conflict. Iran sent truck loads of food and medicine to Iraq and thousands of Kuwaiti refugees were given shelters in Iran.^[30]

Rafsanjani voiced support to Prince Abdullah's peace initiative and to "everything the Palestinians agree to". He was also clear that Iran's international interests must take precedence over those of Iranian allies in Syria and Lebanon.^[27]

Rafsanjani is a supporter of Iran's nuclear program. In 2007 Rafsanjani reiterated that the use of weapons of mass destruction was not part of the Islamic Republic culture. Rafsanjani said: "You [US and allies] are saying that you cannot trust Iran would not use its nuclear achievements in the military industries, but we are ready to give you full assurances in this respect."^[31]

After presidency

In 2000, in the first election after the end of his presidency, Rafsanjani ran again for Parliament. In the Tehran contest, Rafsanjani came in 30th, or last, place. At first he was not among the 30 representatives of Tehran elected, as announced by the Iranian Ministry of the Interior, but the Council of Guardians then ruled numerous ballots void, leading to accusations of ballot fraud in Rafsanjani's favor.^[8] Rafsanjani thus became a Majlis representative, but resigned before being sworn in. He explained that he felt he was "able to serve the people better in other posts".

Rafsanjani is currently the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, that resolves legislative issues between the Majlis and the Council of Guardians.

In December 2006, Rafsanjani was elected to the Assembly of Experts representing Tehran with more than 1.5 million votes, which was more than any other candidate. Ahmadinejad opponents won majority of local election seats. On September 4, 2007 he was elected Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body that selects Iran's supreme leader, in what was considered a blow to the supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was running against Ahmad Jannati. Rafsanjani was re-elected to the position on March 10, 2009, running against Mohammad Yazdi. He received 51 votes compared to Yazdi's 26.^[32][33]

Rafsanjani is currently sought by the Argentinian government for ordering the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires.^[34]

Political parties

Although Rafsanjani has been a member of the pragmatic-conservative Combatant Clergy Association, he has a close bond to the reformist Kargozaran party. He has been seen as flip-flopping between conservative and reformist camps since the election of Mohammad Khatami, supporting reformers in that election, but going back to the conservative camp in the 2000 parliamentary elections as a result of the reformist party severely criticizing and refusing to accept him as their candidate. Reformists, including Akbar Ganji, accused him of involvement in murdering dissidents and writers during his presidency. In the end, the major differences between the Kargozaran and the reformists party weakened both and eventually resulted in their loss at the presidential elections in 2005. However, Rafsanjani has regained close ties with the reformers since he lost the 2005 presidential elections to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.^[19]

After his loss at the presidential elections in 2005, a growing tension between him and President Ahmadinejad arose. Rafsanjani has criticized Ahmadinejad's administration several times for conducting a purge of government officials,^[35] slow move towards privatization^[36] and recently hostile foreign policy in particular the atomic energy policy.^[37][38] In return Ahmadinejad has fought back that Rafsanjani failed to differentiate privatization with the corrupt takeover of government-owned companies and of foreign policies which led to sanctions against Iran in 1995 and 1996.^[39][40] He also implicitly denounced Rafsanjani and his followers by calling those who criticize his nuclear program as "traitors".^[41]

The 2009 Iranian election crisis

During the 2009 Presidential election, Rafsanjani's former rival and incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won a landslide victory over challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi, in an election that some believed inside Iran and elsewhere to have been rigged. Additionally, Rafsanjani's daughter was arrested on 2009-06-21 by plain clothes agents from Basij and later released while taking part in a protest against Iran's recent presidential elections; a maneuver, according to Amir Farshad Ebrahimi^[14] she had done before in order to get elected for Majlis.

Rafsanjani is chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for appointing or removing the Supreme Leader. As such, his role in Iran's future is likely pivotal. After the disputed results of the election were certified by the Supreme Leader, Rafsanjani was reported to have called a meeting of the Assembly of Experts, but it is unknown what the outcome or disposition of this meeting actually was.^[42] During this time Rafsanjani relocated from Tehran to Qom, where the country's religious leaders sit. However, for the most part, Rafsanjani was silent about the controversial June 12 election and its aftermath.^[43]

On July 17, 2009, Rafsanjani publicly addressed the election crisis, arrests and freedom of expression during Friday prayers. The prayers witnessed a crowd that resembled the Friday prayers early after the revolution, and supporters of both reformist and conservative parties took part in the event.^[44] During prayers, Rafsanjani argued the following:^[45]

All of us the establishment, the security forces, police, parliament and even protestors should move within the framework of law... We should open the doors to debates. We should not keep so many people in prison. We should free them to take care of their families... It is impossible to restore public confidence overnight, but we have to let everyone speak out... We should have logical and brotherly discussions and our people will make their judgments.... We should let our media write within the framework of the law and we should not impose restrictions on them... We should let our media even criticize us. Our security forces, our police and other organs have to guarantee such a climate for criticism.

Meeting with Ali Khameini after day of ashura riots 2009.

Books

• Amir Kabir; the Hero of Fighting against Imperialism (in Persian)

Quotes

• When the shah gave us freedoms, we drove him out of the country. We won't make that mistake ourselves.^[46]
• Those in control of podiums, influence and media should avoid stirring schisms ...... and take steps towards the creation of unity.^[47]
• A large group of Iranians have doubts about last month's (June) disputed presidential election ... something should be done about the situation., On 2009 presidential election.^[48]
• If one day, the Islamic world is also equipped with weapons like those that Israel possesses now, then the imperialists' strategy will reach a standstill because the use of even one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything. However, it will only harm the Islamic world. It is not irrational to contemplate such an eventuality. Of course, you can see that the Americans have kept their eyes peeled and they are carefully looking for even the slightest hint that technological advances are being made by an independent Islamic country. If an independent Islamic country is thinking about acquiring other kinds of weaponry, then they will do their utmost to prevent it from acquiring them. Well, that is something that almost the entire world is discussing right now. (December 2001)^[49]
• If the Americans attack Iran, the world will change. …They will not dare to make such a mistake (2004)^[50]
• We are not bothering anyone, but we have acquired nuclear expertise and we want to benefit from it to improve our life.
• You need diplomacy and not slogans. This is the place for wisdom, the place for seeking windows that will take you to the objective. (2005)^[51]
• We want all the Palestinians back in their homeland, and then there can be a fair referendum for people to choose the form of state they want. Whoever gets the majority can rule. (2005)^[52]
• There is no doubt that America is a superpower of the world and we cannot ignore them. I think that Americans should gradually begin to adopt positive behavior rather than doing evil. They should not expect an immediate reaction in return for their positive measures. It will take time.^[53]
• I believe the main solution [referring to the nuclear issue] is to gain the trust of Europe and America and to remove their concerns over the peaceful nature of our nuclear industry and to assure them that there will never be a diversion to military use.^[54]
• Europe resolved a great problem – the problem of the Zionist danger. The Zionists, who constituted a strong political party in Europe, caused much disorder there. Since they had a lot of property and controlled an empire of propaganda, they made the European governments helpless. What Hitler and the German Nazis did to the Jews of Europe at that time was partly due to these circumstances with the Jews. They wanted to expel the Zionists from Europe because they always were a pain in the neck for the governments there. This is how this calamity fell upon the Muslims, especially the Palestinians, and you all know this history, more or less.[...]The first goal was to save Europe from the evil of Zionism, and in this, they have been relatively successful.^[55]
• We have no problems with Jews and highly respect Judaism as a holy religion.^[56]
• Look, as long as we can enrich uranium and master the fuel cycle, we don’t need anything else. Our neighbors will be able to draw the proper conclusions.^[57]

See also

• Abbas Vaez-Tabasi
• Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Alireza Marandi
• Faezeh Hashemi

References

External links

• Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Official Website
• All News About Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Iranian Economy in Six Snapshots
• Rafsanjani's response to some allegations (ISNA, in Persian)
• ISNA interview with Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani about the Rafsanjani family (in Persian)
• Friday Sermon at Tehran University: We Will Soon Join The Nuclear Club — For Peaceful Purposes (video clip from 3 Dec. 2004)
• Video Archive of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• "The U.S. and Iran" by George Church
• Arms for Hostage Deals

Presidents of Iran (List) Abulhassan Banisadr • Mohammad-Ali Rajai • Ali Khamenei • Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani • Mohammad Khatami • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Chairmen of the Parliament of Iran since 1906 Qajar dynasty (1906-1925) Hedayat · Mahmoud Khan · Ismaiel Khan · Mostashar-dowle · Ismaiel Khan · Foroughi · Pirnia Imperial State of Iran (1925-1979) Mowstofi · Tadin · Pirnia · Dadgar · Esfandiary · Tabatabai' · Hekmat · Emami · Kashani · Moazemi · Hekmat · Riazi · Saeed Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-Present) Sahabi · Rafsanjani · Karroubi · Nateq-Nouri · Karroubi · Haddad-Adel · Larijani