| علی اکبر صالحی Ali Akbar Salehi |
|
|---|---|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 13 December 2010 |
|
| President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
| Deputy | Mansour Borghee |
| Preceded by | Manouchehr Mottaki |
| Head of Atomic Energy Organization | |
| In office 16 July 2009 – 13 December 2010 |
|
| President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
| Deputy | Mohammad Ahmadian |
| Preceded by | Gholam Reza Aghazadeh |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Ahmadian |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 24, 1949 Karbala, Iraq |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Spouse(s) | Zahra Rad |
| Alma mater | American University of Beirut Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Ali Akbar Salehi (Persian: علی اکبر صالحی, born 24 March 1949 in Karbala, Iraq[1]) is an Iranian politician, diplomat and academic and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 13 December 2010. Previous to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 16 July 2009 to 13 December 2010. He was also Iranian Representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2005.[2]
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He was born on 24 March 1949 in Karbala, Iraq when his family was living in Iraq for business reasons. He has a BSc from the American University of Beirut[3] and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he earned in 1977. He was also Associate Professor and Chancellor of the Sharif University of Technology[4] and a member of the Academy of Sciences of Iran and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy.
He was Chancellor of the Sharif University of Technology from 1982 to 1985 and once again in 1989 to 1993.
Ali Akbar Salehi is an active diplomat in the Foreign Policy of Iran:
He was appointed as Permanent Representative of Iran to International Atomic Energy Agency by President Mohammad Khatami in 13 March 1997 and was in post until 22 August 2005 for more than eight years. On 18 December 2003, Salehi signed the Additional Protocol to the safeguard agreement, on behalf of Iran. He was replaced by Ali Asghar Soltanieh.
He was also Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference under Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu from 2007 to 2009. He resigned in July 2009 when was appointed as Head of AEAI.
On 16 July 2009, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Salehi as the new head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, replacing Gholam Reza Aghazadeh who resigned on 10 July 2009. Salehi resigned from post on 23 January 2011 when Ahmadinejad nominated him as Foreign Minister. On 13 February 2011, President Ahmadinejad appointed Fereydoon Abbasi as Head of Atomic Energy Organization to succeed Salehi.
On 13 December 2010, Ahmadinejad dismissed Manouchehr Mottaki for unknown reasons and appointed Salehi in an acting capacity.[5] Mottaki was the Foreign Minister of Iran since 24 August 2005. He was the only Minister who was not replaced in Ahmadinejad's cabinet after Ahmadinejad's reelection. On 23 January 2011, Ahmadinejad designated Salehi to become Foreign Minister to the Parliament. The Iranian Parliament voted him in 30 January and he became the foreign minister of Iran with 146 positive votes.[6]
He sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and said that Iran will support the revolutions in Bahrain and Libya.
On 19 June 2011, members of the Parliament of Iran have signed a scroll to impeach Salehi following the appointment of Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh as his financial deputy foreign minister. Malekzadeh has served as Secretary General of the High Council of Iranian Affairs Abroad and is a close friend of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mohammad Raeesi |
Ambassador of Iran to the IAEA 1997-2005 |
Succeeded by Ali Asghar Soltanieh |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Gholam Reza Aghazadeh |
Head of Atomic Energy Organization 2009-2010 |
Succeeded by Mohammad Ahmadian |
| Preceded by Manouchehr Mottaki |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 2010-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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