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| {{Infobox_President | name=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad <br> | |||
| | nationality=iranian | |||
| | image=Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_front_view.jpg.jpg | |||
| | order=6th ] | |||
| | term_start=], ] | |||
| | term_end= | |||
| | vicepresident=] | |||
| | predecessor=] | |||
| | successor= Incumbent | |||
| | birth_date=], ] | |||
| | birth_place=] | |||
| | death_date= | |||
| | death_place= | |||
| | party=] | |||
| }} | |||
| {{audio|Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad.ogg|'''Mahmoud Ahmadinejad''' (Persian pronunciation)}}, also written '''Ahmadinezhad''', (محمود احمدینژاد in ]; born ], ]), is the sixth ] of the ]. His term began on ], ]. | |||
| Ahmadinejad was appointed ] of ] on ], ] and was elected president on ], ]. He is widely considered to be a religious ] with ] and ] views. Before his appointment as mayor, he was a ] and an assistant professor at the ]. | |||
| Politically, Ahmadinejad is a member of the ], but he has a more powerful base inside the ] (''Abadgaran''). Ahmadinejad is considered one of the main figures in the alliance. | |||
| ==Personal life and education== | |||
| Born in the village of Arādān near ], the fourth of seven children born to a ], his family moved to Tehran when he was one year old. He ranked 130th in the nationwide university entrance exams, and entered ] (IUST) as an ] student of ] in 1976. He continued his studies in the same university, entering the ] program for civil engineering in 1984, the year he joined the ] (see below), and in 1987 received his ] in ]. The graduate program was a special program for the Revolutionary Guards members funded by the organization itself. After graduation, he became a professor at the civil engineering department at IUST. | |||
| ==Early political career== | |||
| ]n president ] on his visit to ] in 2004. In the visit, Chávez was welcomed with a new statue of ], Venezuela's national hero, in the ] park in Tehran. Sitting to Chávez's left is the brother of ], now a prominent politician.]] | |||
| In 1979, Ahmadinejad was the head representative of IUST to the unofficial student gatherings that occasionally met with the ]. These sessions created the foundations of the first ] (''daftar-e tahkim-e vahdat''), the student organization to which several members behind the seizure of the United States embassy belonged (this would become the ]). Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office of Strengthening Unity. Before the seizure of the embassy, he had suggested a simultaneous or similar attempt against the ] embassy, but was voted down, resulting in independent pursuit of the idea by its proponents. {{fact}} | |||
| He joined the ] in 1986 during the ]. After training at the headquarters, he saw action in extraterritorial ] against ], ]. Later he also became the head engineer of the sixth army of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the head of the Corps' staff in the western provinces of Iran. After the war, he served as vice governor and governor of ] and ], an Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the governor of the then newly established ] from 1993 to October 1997. | |||
| Ahmadinejad was mostly an unknown figure in Iranian politics until he was elected ] by the second ] on ], ], after a 12% turnout led to the election of the conservative candidates of ] in Tehran. During his mayorship, he reversed many of the changes put into effect by previous moderate and ] mayors, putting serious religious emphasis on the activities of the cultural centers founded by previous mayors, going on the record with the separation of ]s for men and women in the municipality offices<ref>http://entekhab.ir/display/?ID=2648</ref> and suggesting that the bodies of those killed in the Iran-Iraq war be buried in major ]s of Tehran. Such actions were coupled with an emphasis on ], such as distributing free soup to the poor. | |||
| As the Mayor of Tehran, Ahmadinejad also became the ''manager in charge'' of the daily newspaper '']'', replacing editor ] with ]. Ahmadinejad subsequently fired Sheikh-Attar on ], ], a few days before the presidential elections, for not supporting him for the post, replacing Sheikh-Attar with ], a previous Vice Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance during the ministership of ]. He fired Nafiseh Kouhnavard, one of Hamshahri's journalists, for asking Khatami about the "red lines" of the regime and illegal parallel intelligence agencies, a question Ahmadinejad didn't consider appropriate. Kouhnavard was later accused by hard-liners of spying for ] and the ]. {{fact}} | |||
| <!-- link broken <ref>http://www.freebatebi.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1098623651&archive=1099862786&start_from=&ucat=&do=archives</ref> | |||
| --> | |||
| Ahmadinejad is known to have quarreled with Khatami, who then barred him from attending meetings of the Board of Ministers, a privilege usually extended to mayors of Tehran. He has publicly criticized Khatami for ignorance of the daily problems of the general public. | |||
| After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was shortlisted in a list of 65 finalists for ] in ] <ref>{{cite web | title= More than 87,000 took part in the World Mayor 2005 project | work=WorldMayor.com | url= http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/intro05.html | accessdate=December | accessyear=2005}}</ref>. Out of the 550 nominated mayors, only nine were from ]. | |||
| Ahmadinejad resigned from his post as the mayor of Tehran after his election to the presidency. His resignation was accepted on ], ], and in September 2005 the Tehran City Council elected ] with 8 out of 15 votes as the 12th Mayor of Tehran. | |||
| ==Presidency== | |||
| ===Electoral platform=== | |||
| Ahmadinejad has generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, which some US-based analysts consider to have been designed to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes. His campaign ] was, "It's possible and we can do it" (میشود و میتوانیم). | |||
| In his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad took a ] approach, with emphasis on his own modest life, and had compared himself with ], the second president of Iran — a claim that raised objections from Rajai's family. Ahmadinejad claims he plans to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. He is a self-described "principlist"; that is, acting politically based on Islamic and ] principles. One of his goals is "putting the ] income on people's tables," referring to Iran's oil profits being distributed among the poor. | |||
| Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the ]. Also, in an interview with ] a few days before the elections, Ahmadinejad accused the ] of being "one-sided, stacked against the ]." He has openly opposed the ] given to the five permanent members of the ]. In the same interview, he stated, "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." In addition, he has defended ] and has accused "a few arrogant powers" of attempting to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields. In a question by a '']'' journalist about the release of ]s in the event he became president, Ahmadinejad answered with a question: "Which political prisoners? The political prisoners in the United States?" {{fact}} | |||
| After his election he proclaimed, "Thanks to the blood of the ]s, a new Islamic revolution has arisen and the Islamic revolution of 1384 will, if God wills, cut off the roots of injustice in the world." He said, "The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world." {{fact}} | |||
| During his campaign for the second round, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government."{{fact}} Also he has mentioned that he has an extended program on fighting ] in order to improve foreign relations and has called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending ] requirements between states in the region, saying that "People should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their ]s and tours." | |||
| As confirmed by Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah ], a senior cleric from Qom, is President Ahmadinejad's ideological mentor and spiritual guide. Mesbah is the founder of ] School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's campaign during presidential election in 2005. | |||
| <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] --> | |||
| ] | |||
| ], the secretary-general of ], on ], ]]] | |||
| Ahmadinejad became the President of Iran on ], ], receiving the approval of ] ]. During the inauguration ceremony he kissed Khamenei's hand in demonstration of his loyalty to him. The act caused a stir in the national media as he is the first Iranian president to kiss Khamenei's hand and the second Iranian president to kiss a supreme leader's hand (the first was Rajai, who kissed ]'s hand). Ahmadinejad was widely perceived at the time of his election to be Khamenei's protégé.<ref>http://roozonline.com/01newsstory/009123.shtml</ref> | |||
| In the first announcement after his presidency, Ahmadinejad asked the public servants not to post his photographs and pictures in governmental offices and use the pictures and photos of Khomeini and Khamenei only. | |||
| Ahmadinejad completed the requisite ceremonies of becoming president on ], when he took a vow before the ] to protect Iran's national institutions: ] ], the ], and the ]. From August 3 to August 6, ], Khatami's First Vice President, was Acting President. | |||
| ===Ahmadinejad's ministers=== | |||
| Ahmadinejad was required to introduce his suggested ministers to Majlis for a vote of approval in fifteen days, after which Majlis would have one week to decide about the ministers. It was mentioned by Masoud Zaribafan, Ahmadinejad's campaign manager, that Ahmadinejad would probably introduce his cabinet on the same day of his vow, which did not happen, but the list was finally sent to the Majlis on ]. The Majlis were set to vote on the suggested ministers by ]. | |||
| The parliament had held a private meeting on ], when Ahmadinejad presented a shortlist of three or four candidates for each ministry, to know the opinion of Majlis about his candidates. A news website close to Ahmadinejad published a partial list of Ahmadinejad's decisions based on the feedback, which was updated and changed a few times. {{fact}}<!-- link broken <ref>http://www.khedmat.ir/comments.asp?id=478</ref> --> The final list was officially sent to the Majlis on ], ]. | |||
| After a few days of heavy discussions in Majlis, which started on ], ], Ahmadinejad's cabinet was voted for on ], ], and became the first cabinet since the ] in not winning a complete vote of approval. Four candidates, for the ministries of Cooperatives, Education, Petroleum, and Welfare and Social Security, all previous colleagues of Ahmadinejad in the ], were voted down. The other candidates became ministers. | |||
| The list of suggested ministers and their votes went:<ref>http://president.ir/ahmadinejad/cronicnews/1384/06/02/index-f.htm#b3</ref> | |||
| {| border="1" class="toccolours" style="border-collapse:collapse" | |||
| |- style="background-color: #ddd" | |||
| ! '''Ministry''' | |||
| ! '''Candidate minister''' | |||
| ! '''Approvals''' | |||
| ! '''Denials''' | |||
| ! '''Abstentions''' | |||
| |- | |||
| | Agricultural || ] || 214 || 45 || 24 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Commerce || ] || 169 || 85 || 25 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Communication and Information Technology || ] || 220 || 43 || 16 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Cooperatives || ] || 105 || 134 || 34 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Culture and Islamic Guidance || ] || 181 || 78 || 20 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Defense and Logistics || ] || 205 || 55 || 17 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Economy and Financial Affairs || ] || 216 || 47 || 19 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Education || ] || 73 || 175 || 31 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Energy || ] || 194 || 56 || 23 | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] || ] || 220 || 47 || 16 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Health and Medical Education || ] || 169 || 86 || 27 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Housing and Urban Development || ] || 222 || 31 || 25 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Industries and Mines || ] || 182 || 58 || 30 | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] || ] || 217 || 51 || 13 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Interior || ] || 153 || 90 || 31 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Justice || ] || 191 || 59 || 24 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Labour and Social Affairs || ] || 197 || 59 || 20 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Petroleum || ] || 101 || 133 || 38 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Petroleum || ] || 77 || 139 || 38 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Petroleum || ] || 172 || 53 || 34 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Roads and Transportation || ] || 214 || 43 || 21 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Science, Research, and Technology || ] || 144 || 101 || 35 | |||
| |- | |||
| | Welfare and Social Security || ] || 131 || 108 || 36 | |||
| |} | |||
| The new board of ministers held its first meeting on ] in ], promising to keep frequent meetings to cities other than the capital, Tehran. Temporary supervisors for two of the four ministries without new ministers were appointed by Ahmadinejad on ], ] for the Ministry of Cooperatives and ] for the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security. | |||
| == Domestic policy == | |||
| === Economic policy === | |||
| Ahmadinejad submitted his first annual ] to Iran’s ] on ], ]. This year’s budget (starting March 21) law is based on oil price of US$40 per barrel. The budget is approximately 195,000 billion rial, about 70% of which is devoted to government controlled areas. The budget was planned to oppose economic monopolies, and is the largest in Iran's history with a 50% increase on the previous financial year, a change some of Ahmadimejad's opponents describe as “disastrous.” Some Iranian MPs believe that even this extremely large amount of money will be insufficient to fulfil Ahmadinejad’s election promises.<ref>Hamid Ahadi, , ], 2006</ref> | |||
| ]-] budget proposal is to be an ''operational budget'' where funds would be devoted based on the outcome of an operation rather than dividing the budget among organizations. | |||
| In 2006-2007 budget proposal, 0.6 percent of ] has been devoted to scientific research, almost half of what is demanded by Iran's 4th ''Five-Year Social and Economic Development Plan'' (ie. 1.25% of GDP). | |||
| Despite the government's hostility toward ]s, Ahmadinejad devoted approximately 35 billion Rials (or 3,500,000 USD) to a NGO associated with ], an increase of almost tenfold.<ref>, ''Free Republic'', ], 2006</ref><ref>{{fa icon}} </ref> | |||
| ===Reza Love Fund=== | |||
| Ahmadinejad's first piece of legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (1.3 billion USD) fund called ''"Reza Love Fund"'' <ref>{{fa icon}} </ref> which was named after one of ]'s ], ]. By tapping into Iran's huge oil revenues, Ahmadinejad's government claims that this fund will be used to help young people to get jobs and to afford marriage, as well to assist in purchasing their own homes. | |||
| The fund also sought charitable donations, and includes a ] in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The new plan is subject to the approval of the conservative-held ], but is seen as unlikely to encounter strong opposition given deputies in the Majles have also shown an eagerness to focus on resolving economic problems. | |||
| This piece of legislation was in response to the costly housing in urban centres which is pushing up the national average marital age, which currently is around 25 for women and 28 for men. This was the first example of Ahmadinejad's attempting to fulfill his promise of "bringing oil money to the Iranian people's plates." | |||
| === Support for Iran's nuclear program === | |||
| Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of ]. On ], ], Ahmadinejad announced that Iran will have ''peaceful nuclear technology'' very soon. He also emphasized that making the ] is not the policy of his government. In his words : "We would like to send the message to those who claim Iran is searching for nuclear weapons that there is no such policy and this is illegal and against our religion." <ref>{{fa icon}} </ref> | |||
| He also added at a January 2006 conference in ]: "A nation which has culture, logic and civilisation does not need nuclear weapons. The countries which seek nuclear weapons are those which want to solve all problems by the use of force. Our nation does not need such weapons."<ref>, ''BBC News'', ], 2006</ref> | |||
| Ahmadinejad has also invited "all countries" to participate in Iran's nuclear project.<ref>{{fa icon}} </ref> | |||
| In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined ] to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in ], he said: | |||
| :''Iran's conditions have changed completely as it became a nuclear state and can talk to other states from that stand.'' <ref name="upi_uranium">, UPI, ], 2006</ref> | |||
| On ], ], Iranian news agency IRNA quoted him as saying: | |||
| :''The peaceful Iranian nuclear technology will not pose a threat to any party because we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice'' | |||
| Regardless of Ahmadinejad's rhetoric, the office of the Iranian President is not responsible for nuclear policy, which is instead set by the ] reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (who issued a ] against nuclear weapons in 2005). The council includes representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, top officials from the military and members of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government (see eg. ]). <ref>, ''Radio Free Liberty'', ], 2005</ref> | |||
| ==Controversies== | |||
| {{main|Controversies surrounding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad}} | |||
| Since his election as the president of Iran, Ahmadinejad has been a controversial figure. He has been subject to various allegations such as election fraud, alleged involvement in the ], ]s of ]ish politicians in ], support of or engagement in ] activities, and ]. | |||
| ==Foreign policy positions== | |||
| === Antagonism toward Israel === | |||
| {{main|Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel}} | |||
| In ] Ahmadinejad gave a speech opposing ] that contained antagonistic statements about the ]. He agreed with a statement he attributed to Khomeini that the "occupying regime" must be wiped off the map or eliminated. He also referred to Israel as a "disgraceful stain the Islamic world." His comments were condemned by major ], the ], ], the ] and ] ] ].<ref>{{cite web | title = Annan 'dismayed' by Iran remarks | work == ] | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4384024.stm | accessdate = October 28 | accessyear = 2005}}</ref> ], ] and ] leaders also expressed displeasure over Ahmadinejad's remark.<ref>{{cite web | title = UN raps Iran's anti-Israel rant | work = ] | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4387206.stm | accessdate = October 28 | accessyear = 2005}}</ref> | |||
| In ] Ahmadinejad also made several controversial statements regarding ] and the State of Israel, at one point referring to the Holocaust as a "myth" and criticizing European laws against ]. He said that although he does not know whether or not nor to what extent the Holocaust occurred, if it had in fact occurred, European countries should make amends to the ]ish people by giving them land to establish a state in Europe (], ] or other countries), the United States, ] or ] instead of making "the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime." These statements were also condemned by many world leaders. | |||
| In ], Ahmadinejad gave the opening address to the "Third International Qods Conference supporting the rights of the Palestinian people." In the speech he reiterated his argument that Palestinians should not suffer to compensate Jews for the Holocaust, though he pointed out that Western countries had admitted that they committed the killing of many Jews. He described Israel as the epicenter of a threat to the entire Muslim world. Ahmadinejad also compared Israel to a dying tree, contrasting it to the young blooming tree that he considers the Palestinian resistance. | |||
| In Iran, supporters of Ahmadinejad have said that the West has misinterpreted or overreacted to his statements, at times intentionally, in order to smear Iran's image or divert attention away from their own faults or responsibilities. At a news conference on January 14, 2006, Ahmadinejad claimed his October speech had been misinterpreted, stating "There is no new policy, they created a lot of hue and cry over that. It is clear what we say: Let the Palestinians participate in free elections and they will say what they want." <ref>, Nazila Fathi, ''New York Times'', ], 2006</ref> At that news conference he also said that he "will not make any historical argument" but would accept any answers produced by European experts to questions about the Holocaust. | |||
| Ahmadinejad's ideas have also been criticised inside Iran. For example, Haroun Yashayaei, the head of Iran's ] community, issued a letter of complaint against Ahmadinejad in January 2006. Khatami has said that the Holocaust is a "historic fact" while criticizing the connection between the Holocaust and the persecution of the Palestinian people <ref>, ''adnkronos International'', ], 2006</ref>. | |||
| ===Improving relations with Russia=== | |||
| {{see also|Iran-Russia relations}} | |||
| Ahmadinejad has taken moves to help strengthen relations with ], setting up a headquarters expressly dedicated to the purpose in October 2005. He has worked with ] on the Iran nuclear issue and both Putin and Ahmadinejad have expressed a desire for more mutual cooperation on issues involving the ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ahmadinejad: Special Hq to be formed for Tehran-Moscow cooperation|publisher=Islamic Republic News Agency| url=http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0510268047185402.htm|accessdate=2006-04-14|date=October 26, 2005}}</ref> However, there have been recent accusations made by Western intelligence officials that Ahmadinejad has sanctioned the training and funding of ] rebels, who are fighting against the local government and Russia, inside Iran.<ref>{{cite news|title= Teheran 'secretly trains' Chechens to fight in Russia|publisher=]| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SOKLFPK05APSDQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2005/11/27/wchech27.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/11/27/ixworld.html | accessdate=2006-04-14|date=November 27, 2005}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| * Ayatollah ] | |||
| ==Notes & references== | |||
| <div style="font-size: 90%"> | |||
| <references /> | |||
| </div><!-- | |||
| Unused citations; need to be checked and re-applied to relevant sections | |||
| # {{note|1}}http://www.hamshahri.org/hamnews/1383/830406/news/siasi.htm#s34989 | |||
| # {{note|11}}http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/01/060111_mj-ir-nuke-ahmadinejad.shtml | |||
| # {{note|38}}{{cite web | title=Iran's Khatami denounces Iranian 'Taliban' | work=IranMania | url=http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=37728&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs | accessdate=November 15 | accessyear=2005}} | |||
| --> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| {{Wikinews|Hardliner wins Iran presidential runoff}} | |||
| ===Election and profile=== | |||
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| * , BBC's profile on Ahmadinejad | |||
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| * , a detailed biography | |||
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| * {{fa icon}} | |||
| * {{fa icon}} | |||
| * {{fa icon}} , '']'''s report on Ahmadinejad's background as a student active in politics and that he was not involved in the US hostage crisis | |||
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| ===Criticism and allegations=== | |||
| * by ] | |||
| * from '']'' | |||
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| * {{fa icon}} , alleging Ahmadinejad supporters of organized illegal activities | |||
| * {{fa icon}} | |||
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| * (Ahmadinejad reports a green light around his person during his speech at the UN General Assembly) | |||
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