Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (Template:Langx; 25 August 1934Template:Snd8 January 2017) was an Iranian Shia cleric and politician who was the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Rafsanjani 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.

During his 40-year tenure, Rafsanjani amassed a large amount of power serving as the speaker of parliament, Commander-in-Chief during the Iran–Iraq War, president, and chose Ali Khamenei as the Supreme Leader of Iran.

Rafsanjani became President of Iran after winning the 1989 election. He served another term by winning the election in 1993. In the 2005 election 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. He and his family faced political isolation for their support of the opposition in 2009. Rafsanjani entered the race for the 2013 presidential election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but he was disqualified by the Guardian Council. With Hassan Rouhani's election, in which Rafsanjani openly supported him, the Rafsanjani family gradually recovered their political reputation. Rafsanjani died in 2017, following a heart attack, in a hospital in Tehran at the age of 82. Although government officials attributed his death to cardiac arrest, his sudden death prompted speculation that he had been assassinated. His family strongly asserted that he had been murdered. Further investigation revealed that his body was highly radioactive.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Rafsanjani has been described as a pragmatic Islamic conservative. The Economist called him a "veteran kingmaker".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He supported a capitalist 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.<ref>RK Ramazani, Revolutionary Iran: Challenge and Response in the Middle East, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.</ref> He was also the founder of, and one of the Board of Trustees of Azad University. In 2003, Forbes estimated his personal wealth to be in excess of Template:US$.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life and education

Rafsanjani was born on 25 August 1934 in the village of Bahraman near the city of Rafsanjan in Kerman Province, to a wealthy family of pistachio farmers.<ref name=autogenerated2>Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani Template:Webarchive from Radio Free Europe</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had seven siblings.<ref name=autogenerated1>Template:Cite news</ref> His father, Mirza Ali Hashemi Behramani, was a pistachio merchant, one of Kerman's famous businessmen. His mother, Hajie Khanom Mahbibi Hashemi, died at the age of 90 on 21 December 1995.<ref name=aps19apr>Template:Cite news</ref> One of his brothers, Mohammad Hashemi, is the former director of IRIB.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From childhood onward Rafsanjani did not see himself as a peasant, according to family members.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He left at the age of 14 to study theology in Qom. There he became acquainted with the ideas of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the most senior dissident cleric who later became the founder of the Islamic Republic, on the political rule of the clergy. He studied theology.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His other teachers were Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani, Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi, Shahab al-Din Mar'ashi Najafi, Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi, Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, and Hussein-Ali Montazeri.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political career

Pre-Revolution struggles

When he was studying at Qom Seminary, he became interested in politics under Ruhollah Khomeini. He was one of the opposers of Mohammad Reza Shah's White Revolution and accompanied Khomeini. With Khomeini's exile, Hashemi's role in the fight against the Shah and representing Khomeini in the country was highlighted. This opposition eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment. He was arrested 7 times from 1960 until 1979 and was in jail for four years and 5 months in total due to his clandestine activities against the Pahlavi regime. Khomeini made him the financial manager of the revolutionary struggle as well as the bridge with other revolutionary groups.Template:Clarify<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Among the groups that had a deep bond with Hashemi, was the Islamic Coalition Party, which is known as responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansur. This communication was another reason for his arrest. In prison, he found the opportunity to become familiar with other groups opposed to the Shah. Template:Citation needed

In the mid-1970s, Rafsanjani travelled to various countries to evaluate the position of anti-Shah resistance groups abroad, including the United States, where his brother Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani was studying.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rafsanjani travelled across sixteen states during his two-week stay, where his brother showed him locations such as Hollywood, the Statue of Liberty, and Yosemite National Park. According to Rafsanjani's brother, a bear broke into their car at Yosemite after they ignored a sign warning visitors not to keep food in their car. Rafsanjani had previously been to the West, visiting several European countries with his wife and children. He made a habit of taking notes about these developed countries to study their living conditions, industry, and resources, in a desire to replicate the same prosperity in his home country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Upon his return to Iran, Rafsanjani was arrested by SAVAK and remained in prison until the victory of the Iranian revolution.

After the revolution

After the victory of Iranian Revolution, Rafsanjani became one of the members of Council of Islamic Revolution. He was one of the powerful members of the council from its establishment. He was also deputy interior minister at that time and later became the acting interior minister.

He was one of the 28 founders of Traditional right-wing Combatant Clergy Association and also one of the members of the central committee of Islamic Republican Party at the first years of the revolution. Years later, it was he who requested IRP's dissolution. His political acumen and Khomeini's full trust helped Rafsanjani as one of the most powerful politicians in Iran at that time. At the time, he was the closest person to the Khomeini and ruled as his "eyes and ears". According to the Gold, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was established with the help of Rafsanjani.

Rafsanjani served as one of the Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams (for next thirty years), Representative of Khomeini at Defense High Council (after death of Mostafa Chamran) and Second-in-Command of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff in the last year of Iran–Iraq War. He forced Khomeini to accept to end the war. Only three months after his appointment as Iran's deputy commander-in-chief, Iran accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 and eight-year war was ended.<ref name="reuters.com">Template:Cite news</ref>

Chairmanship of the Parliament (1980–1989)

Rafsanjani as parliament chairman in the inauguration of Mohammad-Ali Rajai

Iran's first Election Law was developed with Rafsanjani's partnership. He nominated as one of the Islamic Republican Party's candidates in the 1980 legislative election in Tehran. He gained 1,151,514 (54%) votes and ranked 15. Rafsanjani was the Speaker of Parliament of Iran for 9 years. He was elected as the speaker in 1980 in the first season of Parliament after the Iranian Revolution. He was also chairman in the second season and first year of the third parliament. After the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic and election of then-President Ali Khamenei as new supreme leader, he joined the 1989 presidential race and became the President, leaving Parliament.

He had a determining role in the dismissal of Abulhassan Banisadr as commander-in-chief of Iranian military and then his impeachment in the parliament as Iran's first president in June 1981. In the summer of 1981, he protested to the veto of the parliament's plan by the Guardian Council and informed it to Ruhollah Khomeini. This led to the establishment of Expediency Discernment Council, which later he chaired the council.

In the October 1981 presidential election, when he voted for Ali Khamenei, he described it as a vote of "Imam (Khomeini), clerics and the parliament".Template:Cn During differences between Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Khamenei, Hashemi managed to maintain a compromise between Mousavi's reformists and Khamenei's principlists.

Rafsanjani had a prominent role in the Iran–Contra affair, as some participants in the affair in the US government claimed that Rafsanjani headed a "moderate" faction within Iran's government that they hoped to negotiate with. Exactly what role Rafsanjani himself played in this affair remains unclear.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Presidency (1989–1997)

Rafsanjani with newly elected Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, 1989

Rafsanjani's presidency reportedly began on 16 August 1989.<ref name="resignation">Template:Cite web</ref> adopted an "economy-first" policy, supporting a privatization policy against more state-owned economic tendencies in the Islamic Republic.<ref>Pasri, Trita, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, Yale University Press, 2007, p.132</ref> 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.<ref>Brumberg, Daniel, Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran, University of Chicago Press, 2001, p.153</ref>

As president, Rafsanjani was credited with spurring Iran's reconstruction following the 1980–88 war with Iraq.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His reforms, despite attempting to curb the powers of the ultra-conservatives, failed to do so, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards received increasing power from Khamenei during his presidency. He was also accused of corruption by both conservatives<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and reformists,<ref>"It is a quirk of history that Mr. Rafsanjani, the ultimate insider, finds himself aligned with a reform movement that once vilified him as deeply corrupt." Template:Cite news</ref> and was known for tough crackdowns on dissent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Domestic policy

Rafsanjani advocated a free-market economy. With the state's coffers full, Rafsanjani pursued an economic liberalization policy.<ref name="r" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By espousing World Bank inspired structural adjustment policies, Rafsanjani desired a modern industrial-based economy integrated into the global economy.<ref>Book: Factional politics in post-Khomeini Iran By Mehdi Moslem</ref>

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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Among the projects he initiated are Islamic Azad University.<ref>Rafsanjani to Ahmadinejad: We Will Not Back Down, ROOZ Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rafsanjani with some Iranian commanders of Iran–Iraq War

During his presidency, a period in which Rafsanjani is described by western media sources as having been the most powerful figure in Iran,Template:Additional citations needed people ordered executed by the judicial system of Iran included political dissidents, drug offenders, Communists, Kurds, followers of the Baháʼí Faith, and even Islamic clerics.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>

Regarding the Iranian People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, Rafsanjani said (Ettela'at, 31 October 1981):

Rafsanjani also worked with Khamenei to maintain the stability of government after the death of Khomeini.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Foreign policy

Rafsanjani meeting with former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan

Following years of deterioration in foreign relations under Khomeini during the Iran–Iraq War, Rafsanjani sought to rebuild ties with Arab states<ref>Mafinezam, Alidad and Aria Mehrabi, Iran and its Place Among Nations, Greenwood, 2008, p.37</ref> as well as with countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.<ref>Mohaddessin, Mohammad, Islamic Fundamentalism, Anmol, 2003, pp.70–72</ref> However, relations with European countries and the United States remained poor, even though Rafsanjani had a track record of handling difficult situations and defusing crises.<ref name="autogenerated3">Template:Cite web</ref>

He condemned both the United States and Ba'athist 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 for his Satanic Verses.

Rafsanjani at the House of Leadership

Rafsanjani said that Iran is ready to assist Iraq, "expecting nothing in return", he also said that "peace and stability" is a function of the "evacuation of the occupiers."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rafsanjani meeting with Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Iran gave humanitarian help to the victims of the conflict. Iran sent truckloads of food and medicine to Iraq, and thousands of Kuwaiti refugees were given shelter in Iran.<ref>Iran's Persian Gulf Policy: From Khomeini to Khatami, by Christin Marschall</ref>Template:Page needed

Rafsanjani voiced support to Prince Abdullah's peace initiative and to "everything the Palestinians agree to". He also stated that what he called "Iran's international interests" must take precedence over those of Iranian allies in Syria and Lebanon.<ref name=autogenerated3 />

Ayatollah Rafsanjani was 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to The Economist, he is regarded by many Iranians "as the only person with the guile and clout to strike a deal with the West to end economic sanctions" imposed upon the country due to its nuclear program.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Construction

After the end of the Iran-Iraq war, the need for a road map for the future was felt in order to end the historical gap between the country Iran development programs in the first government of Rafsanjani. The fifth government soon managed to recover the economy and moved the arrowhead of the indicators in a different direction. The first action of the fifth government was devoted to designing the first development plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The men that Rafsanjani had chosen to run the country took over the task of drafting the plan, and the first development plan was approved by the parliament at the end of 1990. The general goals of this program are rebuilding and equipping the defense base, rebuilding and modernizing production and infrastructure capacities and population centers damaged during the imposed war, quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement of public culture, creating economic growth, providing the minimum basic needs of the people, determining and modifying the pattern Consumption, organization reform and executive and judicial management of the country were considered. The most important characteristics of the two periods of Rafsanjani's government were the developmental and building approach, the establishment of a free economy in the country, and the use of Extraterritorial jurisdiction managers and technocrats. Characteristic of the construction government was that it paid much attention to the development of industrial and transportation infrastructure.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

After the presidency

Rafsanjani supporters in the 2005 election

Post-presidency, Rafsanjani delivered a sermon at Tehran University in the summer of 1999 praising government use of force to suppress student demonstrations.<ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":2" />

Rafsanjani in Eid al-Fitr prayer, while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sitting at his side

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's opponents won the majority of local election seats. On 4 September 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 won the chairmanship with 41 votes of the 76 cast. His ultraconservative opponent, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, received 31 votes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rafsanjani was re-elected to the position on 10 March 2009, running against Mohammad Yazdi. He received 51 votes compared to Yazdi's 26.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 8 March 2011, he withdrew from the election and Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani was elected as his replacement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>In Rafsanjani's election to key post, Iran moderates see victory The Indian Express, 6 September 2007</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Following his presidency, Rafsanjani also became an advocate of greater freedom of expression and tolerance in Iranian society. In a speech on 17 July 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The event has been considered by analysts as the most important and most turbulent Friday prayer in the history of contemporary Iran.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nearly 1.5 to 2.5 million people attended the speech in Tehran.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2009 election protests

Rafsanjani with one of the protest leaders, Mehdi Karroubi

During the 2009 presidential election, Rafsanjani's former rival and incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won a disputed landslide victory over challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. His daughter was arrested on 21 June by plain clothes Basij during the subsequent protest<ref name="mihan.net">Template:Cite web</ref> and later sentenced to six months in jail on charges of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.Template:Citation needed

Ayatollah Akbar Rafsanjani was chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for appointing or removing the Supreme Leader, who has been rumored to not be in the best of health.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 12 June election and its aftermath.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 17 July 2009, Rafsanjani publicly addressed the election crisis, mass arrests and the issue of freedom of expression during Friday prayers. The prayers witnessed an extremely large crowd that resembled the Friday prayers early after the revolution. Supporters of both reformist and conservative parties took part in the event. During prayers, Rafsanjani argued the following:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His support for the Green Movement reinvigorated his image among the urban middle-class segments of Iranian society who made up the bulk of the movement and solidified Rafsanjani's role as a backer of factions within Iran that advocated the reform of the system to ensure its survival.

Assembly of Experts election

On 8 March 2011 Rafsanjani lost his post as chairman of the powerful Assembly of Experts, replaced by Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani. Rafsanjani stated that he withdrew from the election for chairman to "avoid division." The loss was said to be the result of intensive lobbying "in recent weeks" by "hardliners and supporters" of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and part of Rafsanjani's gradual loss of power over the years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2013 presidential elections

Rafsanjani announcing his candidacy with his daughter, Fatemeh accompanied him.

On 11 May 2013, Rafsanjani registered for the 14 June presidential election with just minutes to spare.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Former reformist president Mohammad Khatami endorsed him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, on 21 May 2013, Iran's electoral center, Guardian Council disqualified him from standing in the presidential election.<ref name=rooz22>Template:Cite news</ref> On 11 June 2013, Rafsanjani endorsed moderate Hassan Rouhani in the elections for Iran's presidency saying the candidate was "more suitable" than others for presidency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Later years

Reformers had enjoyed his support in recent years, helping to tilt the balance of power towards more moderate forces who managed to win the presidential poll in 2013 with the victory of Hassan Rouhani and parliamentary elections in 2016. Rafsanjani was viewed as having enough influence over Khamenei to bring moderate views into consideration. His death was therefore regarded as an event that strengthened the power of hardliners and weakened the influence of moderates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also kept his traditional connections with the clergy in the holy city of Qom and with conservative forces within the political establishment, which made it difficult for hardliners to form a strong front against moderate forces.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After winning reelection to his seat at Assembly of Experts as Tehran district's first person, Rafsanjani announced that it was the last time that he joined an election as a candidate and will be retired from politics at the end of the current term. He also said "Now I can die with peace of mind" after seeing election of a moderate parliament in the 2016 legislative election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Template:Main Template:Wikinews Rafsanjani died on 8 January 2017, at 19:30 (UTC+03:30) due to a heart attack in a pool. He was brought immediately to Tajrish's Shohada-ye Tajrish Hospital in north Tehran, as reported by Iranian state-run media.<ref>Torbat, Akbar (2017), The Legacy Of Iran's Powerful Cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NY-death">Template:Cite news</ref> He was 82 years old at the time of his death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The government announced three days of national mourning and a public holiday on his funeral day. Black banners were raised in Tehran and other cities and some posters showed the Supreme Leader and Rafsanjani together smiling. Five days of mourning also observed in the southern province of Kerman, where Ayatollah Rafsanjani's hometown of Rafsanjan is located.

Two months after his death, a highway in Northern Tehran was renamed in his honour. Many streets in other cities also named Rafsanjani. The central building of Azad University also named as Building and a statue of him was installed outside of the building. Kerman International Airport was also renamed to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani Airport.

In 2018 Hassan Rouhani ordered the Iranian supreme national security council to reopen an investigation into Rafsanjani's death.<ref name=":0" />

Assassination allegations

In a 2025 interview, Faezeh Hashemi, Akbar Rafsanjani's daughter, alleged that he was assassinated, not by Russia or Israel, but by the highest echelons of power in the Islamic Republic, because "he sided with the people and spoke out" and "he was in their way- so he had to be removed".<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref> Rafsanjani's other daughter, Fatemeh, stated that two months before his death she was approached by two individuals who threatened that he "would be killed in a way that would make it appear a natural death".<ref name=":02" /> The combination of suspicious circumstances surrounding his death has given additional clout to the allegations of foul play, these include delays in his transport to the hospital, blocked access to CCTV footage from his office and his supposed place of death, absence of post-mortem examinations despite the family's requests, and the disappearance of his diaries and will from his office soon after his death.<ref name=":02" /> According to Rafsanjani’s family, the Supreme National Security Council’s official report stated that his body contained radiation levels ten times the safe limit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The official investigation into the death of Rafsanjani was concluded by the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council at the time, Ali Shamkhani, who stated that it was "completely natural and without any ambiguity".<ref name=":02" />

Controversies

Accusations

The names of the victims appear in the commemorative plaque in front of Mykonos restaurant in Berlin

Rafsanjani was sought by the Argentinian government for ordering the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires.<ref name=":1" /> It was based on the allegation that senior Iranian officials planned the attack in an August 1993 meeting, including Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, Mohammad Hejazi, Khamenei's intelligence and security advisor, Rafsanjani, then president, Ali Fallahian, then intelligence minister, and Ali Akbar Velayati, then foreign minister.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tension with Ahmadinejad

Khamenei and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

After his loss at the presidential elections in 2005, a growing tension between him and President Ahmadinejad arose. Rafsanjani had criticized Ahmadinejad's administration several times for conducting a purge of government officials,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> slow move towards privatization<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and recently hostile foreign policy in particular the atomic energy policy.<ref>Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad Engage in New War of Words (ROOZ: English) Template:Webarchive</ref> In return Ahmadinejad 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also implicitly denounced Rafsanjani and his followers by calling those who criticize his nuclear program as "traitors".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During a debate with Mir-Hossein Moussavi in 2009 presidential election, Ahmadinejad accused Rafsanjani of corruption. Rafsanjani released an open letter in which he complained about what he called the president's "insults, lies and false allegations" and asked the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, to intervene.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tension with Khamenei

In his latter years, Rafsanjani had disagreements with Ali Khamenei who has the last say in everything in Iran. Khamenei even indirectly called Rafsanjani a traitor,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and according to political analyst, Mehdi Mahdavi-Azad, in the months prior to his death, Rafsanjani openly stated that he had made a mistake in choosing Khamenei as supreme leader.<ref name=":02" /> Following his death, Khamanei said of Rafsanjani, "I don't know any other figure with whom I have had so many shared experiences and long history in ups and downs of this era which made history."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, during a speech on the day of Rafsanjani's death, using a play on Rafsanjani's first name Akbar, Khamenei stated that it would cause harm to the Islamic Republic if a “reprobate or misled brother” turned out to be the “bigger Satan” and played the role of the real Satan in misleading the people", further stating that "this person is our enemy, too".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":04">Template:Cite web</ref> In the traditional prayer for the dead, Khamenei also noticeably omitted the sentence attesting that the deceased lived a life of "benevolence and goodness".<ref name=":04" />

Views

Political parties

Before Iranian Revolution, Rafsanjani was active in the anti-Shah activities and reportedly associated with the Islamic Coalition's shura-ye ruhaniyat (Template:Literal translation)<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and the People's Mujahidin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Although Rafsanjani was a member of the pragmatic-conservative Combatant Clergy Association, he had a close bond to the Executives of Construction Party and Moderation and Development Party.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In 2009, Rafsanjani ceased activity in the Combatant Clergy Association, despite remaining a member.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

He was regarded 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.Template:Citation needed 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 regained close ties with the reformers since he lost the 2005 presidential elections to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.<ref name="r">Template:Cite web</ref>

Jews, the Holocaust and Israel

Rafsanjani said that the detonation of a single nuclear weapon inside Israel "will annihilate the entire country".<ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref> In a Quds Day sermon on 23 January 1998, he claimed that Israel was "much worse than Hitler," accusing Zionists of killing over a million Palestinians. He questioned the Holocaust death toll, stating Hitler had killed "only 200,000 Jews," and dismissed the figure of six million as "a propaganda act by the Zionists."<ref name=":03">Template:Citation</ref>

Electoral history

Rafsanjani casting his vote in 2013 presidential election

Year	Election	Votes	%	Rank	Notes
1980	Parliament	1,151,514	≈54	15th	Won
1982	Assembly of Experts	2,675,008	84		Won
1984	Parliament	Template:Increase 1,891,264	Template:Increase 81.9	1st	Won
1988	Parliament	Template:Decrease 1,573,587	Template:Increase 82.3	1st	Won
1989	President	15,537,394	96.1	1st	Won
1990	Assembly of Experts	Template:Decrease 1,604,834	Template:Increase 85		Won
1993	President	Template:Decrease 10,449,933	Template:Decrease 64	1st	Won
1998	Assembly of Experts	Template:Increase 1,682,188	Template:Decrease 60		Won
2000	Parliament	Template:Decrease 749,884	Template:Decrease 25.58	30th	Won but withdrew
2005	President	Template:Decrease 6,211,937	Template:Decrease 21.13	1st	Went to run-off
	President run-off	Template:Increase 10,046,701	Template:Increase 35.93	2nd	Lost
2006	Assembly of Experts	Template:Decrease 1,564,197	Template:Decrease ≈41	1st	Won
2013	President	–			Disqualified
2016	Assembly of Experts	Template:Increase 2,301,492	Template:Increase 51.13	1st	Won

Personal life

Marashi

From his marriage to Effat Marashi in 1958,<ref name=nyt>Template:Cite news</ref> Rafsanjani had three sons: Mohsen, Mehdi, and Yasser, as well as two daughters, Fatemeh and Faezeh.<ref name=aps19apr /> Only Faezeh Hashemi chose a political life, which led to her becoming a Majlis representative and then the publisher of the weekly newspaper Zan (meaning Woman in English), which was closed in February 1999.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2016, his daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, sparked a debate on religious persecution in Iran by visiting the female leader of the persecuted Baháʼí religious minority.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two women had met in prison, when Faezeh was serving a six-month sentence for "spreading propaganda against the system". Rafsanjani's daughter, Fatemeh is President of Charity Foundation for Special Diseases and Mohsen was chairman of Tehran Metro Organization<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and now is vice president of Azad University. His wife, Effat is the granddaughter of Mohammed Kazem Yazdi.

Family tree

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Assets

The Rafsanjani family took their name from his great grandfather, whose last name was Hashem. When Akbar Hashemi was born, his father was a rich businessman with a valuable pistachio business.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hashemi and his partners also owned Islamic Azad University, worth an estimated Template:US$.<ref name="Azadi">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rafsanjani's three sons own properties in Dubai, including two apartments in the Burj Khalifa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Assassination attempts

Rafsanjani speaking with the media after the first assassination attempt

Months after the revolution, Rafsanjani was shot once in the stomach<ref>Hardline Ayatollah Shot in Tehran. Andrew Whitley, Financial Times, Saturday 26 May 1979; pg. 2; Edition 27,874.</ref> by one of the groups vying for power amid the political turmoil. He was not seriously wounded, and neither was his wife who jumped in front to shield him from the attack. "Great men of history do not die", Khomeini said in announcing that Rafsanjani had survived.

Books

• Memories
• The Combat Era<ref>Moslem, Mehdi. Factional politics in post-Khomeini Iran. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2002. 371. Template:ISBN.</ref>
• Amir Kabir: the Hero of Fighting against Imperialism (1968)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Tafsir Rahnama<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Explicit Letters

In addition, the full text of his Friday Prayer sermons and his congress keynote speeches are also published separately.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Based on his diary, viewpoints, speeches and interviews, several independent books have been published so far.

• Encyclopedia of Quran (Farhang-e-Quran)

The book in fact considered as a key to the subjects and concepts of Quran. The book has been written by Rafsanjani and several other scholars.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Reception and legacy

Although he was a close follower of Ayatollah Khomeini and considered as a central elite during Islamic revolution, at the same time he was fan of reconstruction of shattered country after war and according to this fact, he selected his cabinets from western-educated technocrats and social reformers. His cabinet largely was a reformist one. Rafsanjani acquired both the support of Imam Khomeini in one hand and Majlis in other hand. In fact, he tried to transfer the economy towards the free-market system. There was a gap among Rafsanjani and Khatami and reform agenda because of his partnership with those who were conservative. The first face of reformist movements began by Rafsanjani.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His powerful role and control over Iranian politics earned him the name "Akbar Shah".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Government of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989–97)
• List of ayatollahs
• List of members in the First Term of the Council of Experts

Further reading

• Torbat, Akbar (2017), The Legacy Of Iran's Powerful Cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Pesaran, Evaleila, Iran's Struggle for Economic Independence: Reform and Counter-Reform in the Post-Revolutionary Era, Editor: Taylor & Francis
• Amir Arjomand, Said, After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors , Editor: Oxford University Press
• Moin, Baqer, (1999) Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah, Editor: I.B.Tauris
• Nabavi, Negin, Iran: From Theocracy to the Green Movement, Editor: Palgrave Macmillan
• Nasr, Vali. Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History. Princeton University Press, 2025.

External links

Official

• Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Official Website

Other

• 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 December 2004)
• Video Archive of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• "The U.S. and Iran" by George Church
• Arms for Hostage Deals