Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Fars News Agency · CC BY 4.0 · source
Name	Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Native name	اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی
Birth date	25 August 1934
Birth place	Bahreman, Rafsanjan County, Kerman Province
Death date	8 January 2017
Death place	Tehran
Nationality	Iranian
Occupation	Politician, Cleric
Alma mater	Qom Seminary
Offices	President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1989–1997)

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was an Iranian cleric and politician who played a central role in the Iranian Revolution and in the Islamic Republic's formative institutions, serving as President from 1989 to 1997 and shaping policy across legislative, judicial, and executive arenas. He acted as a bridge between conservative and reformist factions, interacting with figures and bodies such as Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei, the Expediency Discernment Council, and the Assembly of Experts. His network linked provincial power bases in Kerman Province to national institutions including the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Early life and education

Rafsanjani was born in Bahreman, near Rafsanjan, in Kerman Province and moved to Qom to study at the Qom Seminary under teachers associated with schools influenced by Ruhollah Khomeini, Mohammad Beheshti, Morteza Motahhari, Hossein Borujerdi, and Ali Shariati; these links connected him to networks in Mashhad, Isfahan, and Tehran. He engaged with groups contemporaneous to the Fada'iyan-e Islam, Tudeh Party of Iran, and student movements affiliated with University of Tehran circles, while maintaining contacts with clerical peers like Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, and Ebrahim Yazdi. His early life intersected with regional economic actors in Kerman Province and agricultural elites tied to pistachio production, which linked him to provincial families and local notables.

Political rise and role in the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Rafsanjani became active in anti-Pahlavi opposition alongside figures such as Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei, Mehdi Bazargan, Abdolhossein Banisadr, Navvab Safavi, and organizations including the Muslim People's Republic Party, National Front, and veterans of Iranian Constitutional Revolution debates. Arrests and exile paralleled those of contemporaries like Ebrahim Yazdi and Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, and his organizational work connected him to clerical networks in Qom and urban bazaari circles in Tehran Bazaar. During the Iranian Revolution he coordinated with revolutionary committees, shared platforms with labor groups influenced by Fereydoun Hoveyda and diplomats sympathetic to Yasser Arafat-era Palestine Liberation Organization, and negotiated power transitions involving the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces and new bodies such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Tenure as Speaker of the Parliament and early post-revolution roles

As Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles), Rafsanjani worked with parliamentary figures including Mehdi Karrubi, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (note: disallowed self-reference), Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, and committees handling relations with the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and foreign ministries interacting with envoys from France, Soviet Union, and United States. He presided over legislation that defined the role of the Guardian Council, the Assembly of Experts, and the Supreme Leader's prerogatives, negotiating tensions involving radicals tied to Forqan Group and moderates linked to Islamic Iran Participation Front. His parliamentary stewardship coincided with crises such as hostage negotiations reminiscent of the Iran hostage crisis and security incidents involving factions with allegiances to Iraq and Kurdish movements in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Presidency (1989–1997) and domestic policies

During his presidency Rafsanjani pursued reconstruction after the Iran–Iraq War and interacted with international actors like Saddam Hussein-era Iraq, the Gulf Cooperation Council, United Nations Development Programme, and trading partners such as Japan, Germany, France, and China. Domestically he promoted policies that involved ministries formerly led by officials like Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Hojatoleslam figures, and technocrats educated in Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran. He appointed cabinet members with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and industrialists from Isfahan, Tabriz, and Mashhad while engaging reformist personalities including Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, and Mohsen Sazegara. His presidencies’ initiatives intersected with legal reforms concerning the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and fiscal policies debated in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and by economists linked to Tehran University and Tarbiat Modares University.

Foreign policy and regional influence

Rafsanjani's foreign policy prioritized reintegration after the Iran–Iraq War and involved outreach to actors such as Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen, and Oman, as well as engagement with superpowers including the United States and the Soviet Union/Russian Federation. He managed relationships with neighboring states like Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia while navigating regional disputes over the Persian Gulf and energy diplomacy with organizations including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and companies from Japan and South Korea. His administration hosted delegations from the European Union, negotiated trade ties with Italy and Germany, and contended with sanctions frameworks linked to debates at the United Nations Security Council.

Economic reforms, business ties, and controversies

Rafsanjani championed privatization and market-oriented reforms influenced by advisors from Tehran University and economists affiliated with International Monetary Fund-style policies, drawing scrutiny from critics in Iran including Mohammad Khatami supporters and conservatives such as Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel. His networks connected to industrial conglomerates, construction firms, and banks in Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad and to business figures in Dubai and Geneva, raising allegations examined by opponents within the Guardian Council and media outlets tied to Kayhan and reformist newspapers. Controversies included debates over holdings linked to foundations (bonyads) and interactions with financiers associated with cities like Qom and Rafsanjan, prompting inquiries from members of the Parliament and commentators in regional press.

Later years, political influence, and death

After presidency Rafsanjani chaired bodies such as the Expediency Discernment Council and remained a power broker within the Assembly of Experts, interacting with leaders like Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Khatami, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and Hassan Rouhani. He supported reformist coalitions connected to the 2009 Iranian presidential election controversies and post-election protests where figures like Sadegh Zibakalam and Shirin Ebadi became prominent, and he negotiated factional disputes involving the Revolutionary Guards and conservative clerics in Qom. His death in Tehran in January 2017 prompted national reactions from political actors including Ali Khamenei, international comment from countries such as Turkey and Russia, and commemorations involving veterans of the Iran–Iraq War and cultural figures from Persian literature circles; his burial and subsequent events highlighted tensions within Iran's political elite and drew attention from news organizations and diplomatic missions.

Category:Iranian politicians