View source for Abolhassan Banisadr

{{Short description|President of Iran from 1980 to 1981|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}{{redirects here|Banisadr|the Iranian-American artist|Ali Banisadr}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Seyyed]]
| name                = Abolhassan Banisadr
| honorific-suffix    = 
| native_name         = {{No bold|{{Script/Nastaliq|ابوالحسن بنی‌صدر}}}}
| native_name_lang    = fa
| image               = Abolhassan Banisadr portrait 1980 2.jpg
| caption             = Banisadr in 1980
| order               = 1st
| office              = President of Iran
| term_start          = 4 February 1980
| term_end            = 21 June 1981
| 1blankname          = [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme&nbsp;Leader]]
| 1namedata           = [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| 2blankname          = Prime&nbsp;Minister
| 2namedata           = [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]]
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]]
| order2              = [[Council of the Islamic Revolution#Presidents|Head of Council of the Islamic Revolution]]
| term_start2         = 7 February 1980<ref name="Moinfar">{{cite journal|last1=Barseghian|first1=Serge|title=مجادلات دوره مصدق به شورای انقلاب کشیده شد|journal=Shahrvand Weekly|date=February 2008|url=http://www.ensani.ir/fa/content/46921/default.aspx|issue=36|publisher=Institute for humanities and cultural studies}}</ref>
| term_end2           = 20 July 1980
| predecessor2        = [[Mohammad Beheshti]]<ref name="Moinfar" />
| successor2          = ''Office abolished''
| office3             = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]<br />{{small|Acting}}
| term_start3         = 12 November 1979
| term_end3           = 29 November 1979
| appointer3          = [[Council of the Islamic Revolution|Council of the Revolution]]
| predecessor3        = [[Ebrahim Yazdi]]
| successor3          = [[Sadegh Ghotbzadeh]]
| office4             = [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)|Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance]]
| term_start4         = 17 November 1979
| term_end4           = 10 February 1980
| appointer4          = [[Council of the Islamic Revolution|Council of the Revolution]]
| predecessor4        = [[Ali Ardalan]]
| successor4          = [[Hossein Namazi]]
| order5              = [[Assembly of Experts for Constitution|Member of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution]]
| term_start5         = 15 August 1979
| term_end5           = 15 November 1979
| majority5           = 1,752,816 (69.4%)
| constituency5       = [[Tehran Province]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date |1933|03|22|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Hamadan]], [[Pahlavi Iran|Imperial State of Persia]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2021|10|09|1933|03|22|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Paris]], France
| party               = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| otherparty          = {{plainlist|
*[[National Front (Iran)|National Front]] {{small|(1960s)}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Houchang E. Chehabi|title=Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini|publisher=I.B.Tauris|pages=200|date=1990|isbn=978-1850431985}}</ref>
*[[Office for the Cooperation of the People with the President]] {{small|(1980–1981)}}
*[[National Council of Resistance of Iran]] {{small|(1981–1983)}}
}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Ozra Hosseini]]|1961}}
| children            = 3
| signature           = Abulhassan Banisadr signature.svg
| alma_mater          = [[University of Tehran]]<br />[[University of Paris|Sorbonne University]]
}}
{{Contains special characters|Perso-Arabic}}

'''Abolhassan Banisadr''' ({{langx|fa|ابوالحسن بنی‌صدر}}; 22 March 1933 – 9 October 2021) was an Iranian politician, writer, and political dissident. He was the first [[president of Iran]] after the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]] abolished the [[Pahlavi dynasty|monarchy]], serving from February 1980 until his [[impeachment]] by [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|parliament]] in June 1981. Prior to his presidency, he was the [[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iran|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] in the [[Interim Government of Iran (1979)|Interim Government]].

Following his impeachment, Banisadr fled [[Iran]] and found political asylum in [[France]], where he co-founded the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]]. Banisadr later focused on political writings about his revolutionary activities and his critiques of the Iranian government. He became a critic of [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] [[Ali Khamenei]] and the country's handling of its [[2009 Iranian presidential election|2009 elections]].

==Early life and education==
[[File:Banisadr namaz.jpg|left|thumb|Banisadr praying in military uniform in 1979]]
Banisadr was born on 22 March 1933 in [[Baghcheh, Hamadan|Baghcheh]], a small village north of [[Hamadan|Hamedan]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jessup|first=John E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hP7jJAkTd9MC|title=An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945-1996|date=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9|language=en|page=57}}</ref> His father, Nasrollah, was a [[Shia clergy|Shia cleric]] who had originally migrated to the area from [[Bijar County|Bijar]], [[Kurdistan province|Kurdistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=پورتال رسمی شهرداری بیجار گروس |url=http://shora.bijar.ir/fa-IR/BijarPortal/4929/page/-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1- |website=shora.bijar.ir}}</ref><ref name=twquarterly /> As a student, Banisadr studied law, theology, and sociology at the [[University of Tehran]].<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news |last1=Kinzer |first1=Stephen |authorlink=Stephen Kinzer |title=Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, Former Iranian President, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/09/obituaries/abolhassan-bani-sadr-dead.html |access-date=31 October 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=10 October 2021 |page=A21}}</ref> He participated in the anti-Shah student movement during the early 1960s, which led to his being imprisoned twice and wounded during the [[1963 demonstrations in Iran|1963 uprising]].<ref name="twquarterly" /><ref name="rubin80" /> Soon after, due to his political activities, Banisadr fled to [[France]], where he studied finance and economics at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]].<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=NOO>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/world/article254883977.html|title=Banisadr, Iran's first president after 1979 revolution, dies|publisher=News Observer|accessdate=9 October 2021}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He wrote a book on Islamic finance, ''Eghtesad Tohidi,'' which roughly translates as "The Economics of [[tawhid|Monotheism]]".<ref>{{cite web |author=Bekkin, Renat |title=Iran: Experimenting with the Islamic Economy |url=https://www.ca-c.org/online/2006/journal_eng/cac-04/16.bekkinen.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010005835/https://www.ca-c.org/online/2006/journal_eng/cac-04/16.bekkinen.shtml |archive-date=10 October 2021 |accessdate=3 March 2021 |publisher=CA&C Press AB}}</ref> 

In 1972, Banisadr's father died and it was at the funeral in [[Iraq]] where he first became acquainted with [[Ruhollah Khomeini]].<ref name="rubin80" /> He later joined the Iranian resistance group led by Khomeini, becoming one of his most fervent advisors.<ref name="twquarterly" /><ref name="rubin80">{{cite book|last=Rubin |first=Barry |title=Paved with Good Intentions |year=1980 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |page=308 |url=http://www.gloria-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Paved-with-Good-Intentions-final.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021121704/http://www.gloria-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Paved-with-Good-Intentions-final.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 }}</ref> On 1 February 1979, with the end of the [[Iranian Revolution]] drawing near, Banisadr [[Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran|returned]] to the country together with Khomeini.<ref name="EB" />

==Career==
With the [[Interim Government of Iran (1979)|Interim Government]] controlling Iran, Banisadr was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance on 4 February 1979.<ref name=revolution/> At the direction of [[Khomeini]], he also became a member of the [[Council of the Islamic Revolution]], taking the seat of [[Mehdi Bazargan]], who left to become prime minister.<ref name=revolution>{{cite web|last=Metz|first=Helen Chapin|author-link=Helen Chapin Metz |title=The Revolution|url=http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/CobaltPublic/v4/bd/15/ac/bd15acc0-011e-1b4b-6e82-2e8709aa1d09/106-2923369153335397402-The_Revolution.pdf|work=Phobos|access-date=10 August 2013|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203034324/http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/CobaltPublic/v4/bd/15/ac/bd15acc0-011e-1b4b-6e82-2e8709aa1d09/106-2923369153335397402-The_Revolution.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 12 November 1979, following the [[Interim Government of Iran (1979)|Interim Government of Iran]] dissolution, Banisadr was appointed by the Council to replace [[Ebrahim Yazdi]] as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]].<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abolhasan-Bani-Sadr |title=Abolhasan Bani-Sadr |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |accessdate=3 March 2021 }}</ref> That same month, on 17 November, Banisadr was promoted to Minister of Finance, replacing the outgoing [[Ali Ardalan]].<ref name="EB" /><ref name="revolution" /> 

In January 1980, Banisadr registered to become a candidate for Iran's newly formed presidential office. He was not an Islamic cleric; Khomeini, who was by then the [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] with a constitutional authority to dismiss politicians, had insisted that members of the clergy not run for positions in the government.<ref name="clerics" /> On 25 January 1980, Banisadr was [[1980 Iranian presidential election|elected]] to a four-year term as president, receiving 78.9 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-09/banisadr-iran-s-first-president-after-1979-revolution-dies|title=Banisadr, Iran's First President After the 1979 Revolution, Dies|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=9 October 2021|publisher=Bloomberg|accessdate=9 October 2021}}</ref> Inaugural ceremonies took place on 4 February at a hospital where [[Khomeini]] was recuperating from a heart ailment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iran: Abolhassan Bani-sadar Is Sworn In As First President Of Iran. 1980 |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVADX3ABJH0LYNB3WJDZWDWQCQXE-IRAN-ABOLHASSAN-BANI-SADAR-IS-SWORN-IN-AS-FIRST-PRESIDENT-OF-IRAN/query/Koran |accessdate=9 October 2021 |publisher=British Pathe}}</ref> 

In August and September 1980, Banisadr survived two [[helicopter]] crashes near the Iran–[[Iraq]] border.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/ap-online/2021/10/09/banisadr-irans-first-president-after-1979-revolution-dies|title=Banisadr, Iran's first president after 1979 revolution, dies|publisher=Spectrum Local News|accessdate=9 October 2021|archive-date=9 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009091827/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/ap-online/2021/10/09/banisadr-irans-first-president-after-1979-revolution-dies|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[Iran–Iraq War]], Banisadr was made acting [[commander-in-chief]] by [[Khomeini]] on 10 June 1981.<ref name=m93>{{cite journal|last=Mozaffari|first=Mahdi|title=Changes in the Iranian political system after Khomeini's death|journal=Political Studies|year=1993|volume=XLI|issue=4|pages=611–617|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.1993.tb01659.x|s2cid=143804127}}</ref>

[[File:Banisadr beheshti.jpg|thumb|Banisadr (left) inaugurated as first [[President of Iran]] in 1980. [[Mohammad Beheshti]] is on the right and [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] at his back.]]

===Impeachment===
The [[Majlis]] (Iranian Parliament) [[impeachment|impeached]] Banisadr in his absence on 21 June 1981,<ref name=pay13>{{cite web|last=Sahimi|first=Mohammad|title=Iran's Bloody Decade of 1980s|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/13/aug/1138.html|work=Payvand|access-date=27 August 2013|date=20 August 2013|archive-date=28 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928185229/http://www.payvand.com/news/13/aug/1138.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> allegedly because of his moves against the clerics in power,<ref>{{cite web|title=Iranian presidential elections 2013: the essential guide|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/13/iranian-presidential-election-2013-iran|work=The Guardian |date=13 May 2013|access-date=16 March 2015}}</ref> in particular [[Mohammad Beheshti]], then head of the judicial system. [[Khomeini]] himself appears to have instigated the impeachment, which he signed the next day.<ref name=clerics/> According to historian Kenneth Katzman, Banisadr believed the clerics should not directly govern Iran and was perceived as supporting the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] (MEK).<ref name=clerics>{{cite book|chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran|title=Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?|page=101|publisher=Nova Publishers|year=2001|author1=Kenneth Katzman|editor=Albert V. Benliot|isbn=978-1-56072-954-9}}</ref> Only one deputy, [[Salaheddin Bayani]], spoke in favor of Banisadr during his impeachment.<ref>{{citation|title=Iran Parliament finds Banisadr unfit for office|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/22/world/iran-parliament-finds-bani-sadr-unfit-for-office.html|date=22 June 1981|agency=Reuters|work=The New York Times|page=1|access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref> Banisadr called for a referendum, arguing that the people should have the right to choose, and pointing out that he had received over 10 million votes in the presidential election while the IRP had received less than 4 million in the parliamentary elections.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abrahamian |first=Ervand |author-link=Ervand Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |publisher=[[I. B. Tauris]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-85043-077-3 |page=67}}</ref>

Even before [[Khomeini]] signed the articles of impeachment, the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guard]] had seized presidential buildings and imprisoned writers at a newspaper closely tied to Banisadr.<ref name=Schirazi/> Over the next few days, the government executed several of Banisadr's closest friends and advisors, in addition to hundreds of revolutionaries deemed unsympathetic to the regime.<ref name="pay13" /><ref name=Schirazi/> [[Hussein-Ali Montazeri|Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri]] was among the few people in the government who remained in support of Banisadr, but he was later stripped of his powers.<ref name=Schirazi>Schirazi, Asghar, ''The Constitution of Iran: politics and the state in the Islamic Republic'', London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 1997, p.293-4</ref>

Banisadr had gone into hiding in [[Tehran]] for a few days before his removal, assisted by the MEK.<ref name="pay13" /><ref name="zabih" /> There, he attempted to organize an alliance of anti-Khomeini factions to retake power, including the MEK, the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party (Iran)|Kurdistan Democratic Party]], and the [[Fedaian Organisation (Minority)]], while eschewing any contact with [[Monarchism in Iran|monarchist]] exile groups.<ref name="zabih" /> He met numerous times while hiding with MEK leader [[Massoud Rajavi]] to plan an alliance. However, after the execution on 27 July 1981 of prominent MEK member Mohammad Reza Saadati, Banisadr and Rajavi concluded that it was unsafe to remain in Iran.<ref name="zabih">{{cite book|author=Sepehr Zabih|title=Iran Since the Revolution|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1982|isbn=978-0-7099-3000-6|pages=133–136}}</ref>

==Flight and exile==
On 29 July 1981, Banisadr and Rajavi were smuggled aboard an [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force|Iranian Air Force]] [[Boeing 707]] piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi.<ref name=twquarterly /> It followed a routine flight plan before deviating out of Iranian groundspace to Turkish airspace and eventually landing in [[Paris]].<ref name=pay13 /> As a disguise, Banisadr shaved his eyebrows and mustache and dressed in a skirt.<ref>{{cite news | title = Bani-Sadr Flees to Paris For 2nd Exile| newspaper = The Washington Post | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/07/30/bani-sadr-flees-to-paris-for-2nd-exile/43a7cb23-95d5-4dc0-ac9f-ce1c83bfded8/|access-date = 9 October 2021 |language = en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Bani-Sadr escapes to Paris| website = UPI | url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/07/29/Bani-Sadr-escapes-to-Paris/4784365227200/|access-date = 9 October 2021 |language = en}}</ref>

Banisadr and Rajavi found political asylum in Paris, conditional on abstaining from anti-Khomeini activities in France.<ref name=twquarterly/> This restriction was effectively ignored after France evacuated its embassy in Tehran.<ref name=twquarterly/> Banisadr, Rajavi, and the [[Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan|Kurdish Democratic Party]] established the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]] in Paris in October 1981.<ref name=twquarterly>{{cite journal|last=Sreberny-Mohammadi|first=Annabelle|author2=Ali Mohammadi|title=Post-Revolutionary Iranian Exiles: A Study in Impotence|journal=Third World Quarterly|date=January 1987|volume=9|issue=1|pages=108–129|jstor=3991849|doi=10.1080/01436598708419964}}</ref><ref name=zabih /> By 1984, however, Banisadr had fallen out with Rajavi, accusing him of ideologies favoring dictatorship and violence.<ref name=EB/> Furthermore, Banisadr opposed the armed opposition as initiated and sustained by Rajavi and instead sought support for Iran during the war with Iraq.<ref name=EB/>

===''My Turn to Speak''===
In 1991, Banisadr released an English translation of his 1989 text ''My Turn to Speak: Iran, the Revolution and Secret Deals with the U.S.''<ref name="Foreign Affairs; Winter 1991/92">{{cite journal |last=Quandt |first=Walter B. |author-link=William B. Quandt |date=Winter 1991 |title=My Turn To Speak: Iran, the Revolution and Secret Deals with the U.S. |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1991-12-01/my-turn-speak-iran-revolution-and-secret-deals-us |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=70 |issue=5 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |doi=10.2307/20045078 |jstor=20045078 |access-date=15 June 2015|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the book, Banisadr alleged [[1980 October Surprise theory|covert dealings]] between the [[Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign|Ronald Reagan presidential campaign]] and leaders in Tehran to prolong the [[Iran hostage crisis]] before the [[1980 United States presidential election]].<ref name="NYT20090731">{{cite news|title=Bani-Sadr, in U.S., Renews Charges of 1980 Deal|author=Neil A Lewis|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 May 1991|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/07/world/bani-sadr-in-us-renews-charges-of-1980-deal.html|access-date=31 July 2009}}</ref> He also claimed that [[Henry Kissinger]] plotted to set up a [[State of Palestine|Palestinian state]] in the [[Provinces of Iran|Iranian province]] of [[Khuzestan Province|Khuzestan]] and that [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]] conspired with [[Saddam Hussein]] to plot [[Iran–Iraq War#1980: Iraqi invasion|Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran]].<ref name="Foreign Affairs; Winter 1991/92" />

[[Lloyd Grove]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote: "The book is not what normally passes for a bestseller. Cobbled together from a series of interviews conducted by French journalist Jean-Charles Deniau, it is never merely direct when it can be enigmatic, never just simple when it can be labyrinthine."<ref>{{cite news |last=Grove |first=Lloyd |author-link=Lloyd Grove |date=6 May 1991 |title=Bani-Sadr Thickens the Plot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/05/06/bani-sadr-thickens-the-plot/f5d49bff-7d22-4624-8332-a863962cd7c6/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=9 September 2017}}</ref> In a review for ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', [[William B. Quandt]] described the book as "a rambling, self-serving series of reminiscences" and "long on sensational allegations and devoid of documentation that might lend credence to Bani-Sadr's claims."<ref name="Foreign Affairs; Winter 1991/92" /> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' called it "an interesting—though frequently incredible and consistently self-serving-memoir" and said "frequent sensational accusations render his tale an eccentric, implausible commentary on the tragic folly of the Iranian Revolution."<ref name="Kirkus Reviews">{{cite magazine|author1=Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr|title=My Turn to Speak: Iran, the Revolution and Secret Deals with the US|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/abol-hassan-bani-sadr/my-turn-to-speak/|magazine=Kirkus Reviews|access-date=22 August 2016}}</ref>

===Views===
[[File:Banisadri in hamburg 2013.jpg|thumb|Banisadr in 2013]]
In 1980, Banisadr openly criticized the [[Iran hostage crisis]], arguing that the ordeal was isolating Iran from the [[Third World]] and forming "a state within a state".<ref>{{cite book |last=Abrahamian |first=Ervand |author-link=Ervand Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |publisher=[[I. B. Tauris]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-85043-077-3 |page=60}}</ref>

In a 2008 interview with the [[Voice of America]], Banisadr claimed that Khomeini was directly responsible for the violence originating from the Muslim world and that the promises Khomeini made in exile were broken after the revolution.<ref name="vofa8">{{cite news|title=Persian TV weekly highlights|url=https://ir.voanews.com/a/a-31-2008-02-19-voa20-62768327/635240.html|access-date=4 August 2013|work=Voice of America|date=19 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903170600/http://ir.voanews.com/content/a-31-2008-02-19-voa20-62768327/635240.html|archive-date=3 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2009, Banisadr publicly denounced the Iranian government's conduct after the disputed [[2009 Iranian presidential election|presidential election]] by alleging that "[[Khamenei]] ordered the fraud in the presidential elections and the ensuing crackdown on protesters."<ref name="WT20090707" /> In addition, Banisadr said the government was "holding on to power solely by means of violence and terror", and accused its leaders of amassing individual wealth to the detriment of other Iranians.<ref name="WT20090707" />

In published articles on the [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests]], Banisadr ascribed the unusually open political climate before the election to the government's great need to prove its legitimacy,<ref name="DW20090703">{{cite news|title=The Regime Cares Nothing about Human Rights|author=Abolhassan Banisadr|newspaper=Die Welt / Qantara|date=3 July 2009|url=http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-1182/i.html|access-date=31 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820073255/http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-1182/i.html|archive-date=20 August 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> which he said was lost.<ref name=NYTop/> He further stated that the spontaneous uprising had cost the government its political legitimacy, and that [[Khamenei]]'s threats led to the violent crackdown, which also cost the government its religious legitimacy.<ref name=NYTop>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/opinion/01iht-edbanisadr.html|title=Iran at the Crossroads|work=The New York Times|date=31 July 2009|accessdate=9 October 2021|last1=Bani-Sadr|first1=Abolhassan}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Beginning in 1981, Banisadr lived in [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], near Paris, in a [[villa]] closely guarded by [[Law enforcement in France|French police]].<ref name="WT20090707">{{cite news|title=Former Iran president says Khamenei behind election "fraud"|work=WashingtonTV|date=7 July 2009|url=http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=11922|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090728203124/http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=11922|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 July 2009|access-date=31 July 2009}}</ref><ref name="DW20090703"/> Banisadr's daughter, Firouzé, married [[Massoud Rajavi]] in Paris following their exile.<ref name=twquarterly/><ref name=habilian /><ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Craig S.|title=Exiled Iranians Try to Foment Revolution From France|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/international/europe/24rajavi.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=29 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 September 2005}}</ref> They later divorced, and the alliance between him and Rajavi also ended.<ref name=twquarterly /><ref name=habilian>{{cite web|last=Irani|first=Bahar|title=Indispensability of Examining Sexual Abuses within the Cult of Rajavi|url=http://www.habilian.ir/en/Human-Rights/indispensability-of-examining-sexual-abuses-within-the-cult-of-rajavi.html|work=Habilian Association|access-date=29 July 2013|date=19 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119091031/http://www.habilian.ir/en/Human-Rights/indispensability-of-examining-sexual-abuses-within-the-cult-of-rajavi.html|archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

After a long illness, Banisadr died at [[Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital]] in Paris on 9 October 2021, at age 88.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-58855091|title=ابوالحسن بنی‌صدر درگذشت|newspaper=BBC News فارسی }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/family-iranian-state-media-irans-president-abolhassan-banisadr-80492335|title=Family, Iranian state media say Iran's first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, dies in Paris from long illness at age 88|publisher=ABC News|date=9 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/former-iranian-president-bani-sadr-dies-paris-2021-10-09/|title=Former Iranian President Bani-Sadr dies in Paris|date=9 October 2021|work=Reuters|accessdate=9 October 2021}}</ref> He is buried in [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], in the cemetery of [[Cimetière des Gonards|Gonards.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tv78.com/yvelines-communaute-iranienne-rend-hommage-abolhassan-bani-sadr-versailles/|title=Yvelines &#124; la communauté iranienne rend hommage à Abolhassan Bani Sadr à Versailles|date=18 October 2021}}</ref>

==Books==
* ''Touhid Economics'', 1980<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ca-c.org/online/2006/journal_eng/cac-04/16.bekkinen.shtml|title=IRAN: EXPERIMENTING WITH THE ISLAMIC ECONOMY|publisher=CAC.org|accessdate=9 October 2021|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010005835/https://www.ca-c.org/online/2006/journal_eng/cac-04/16.bekkinen.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''My Turn to Speak: Iran, the Revolution and Secret Deals with the U.S.'' Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 1991. {{ISBN|0-08-040563-0}}. Translation of ''Le complot des ayatollahs''. Paris: La Découverte, 1989<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1991-12-01/my-turn-speak-iran-revolution-and-secret-deals-us|title=My Turn To Speak: Iran, The Revolution and Secret Deals with the U.S|date=28 January 2009|publisher=Foreign Affairs|accessdate=9 October 2021|last1=Qu|first1=William B.}}</ref>
* ''Le Coran et le pouvoir: principes fondamentaux du Coran'', Imago, 1993<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/9782902702756/Coran-pouvoir-Principes-fondamentaux-collection-2902702752/plp|title=Le Coran et le pouvoir: Principes fondamentaux du Coran (Hors collection Imago) (French Edition)|publisher=AbeBooks|accessdate=9 October 2021}}</ref>
* ''Dignity in the 21st Century'',  Doris Schroeder and Abol-Hassan Banisadr, with translation by Mahmood Delkhasteh and Sarah Amsler<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://banisadr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=775:dignity-in-the-21st-century&catid=9&Itemid=141|title=banisadr.org - Abolhassan Banisadr: Dignity in the 21st Century|website=banisadr.org}}</ref>
* Books after 1980<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://banisadr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177:1360&catid=9&Itemid=141|title=banisadr.org - تالیفات بنی صدر از 1360 به بعد|website=banisadr.org}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050303011217/http://www.banisadr.com.fr/ Abolhassan Banisadr's website] (in Persian)
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{{Succession box|before=Ali Ardalan|title=[[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)|Minister of Finance of Iran]]|years=1979|after=[[Hossein Namazi]]}}
{{Succession box|before=[[Ebrahim Yazdi]]|title=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran]] (Acting)|years=1979|after=[[Sadegh Ghotbzadeh]]}}
{{Succession box|before=[[Mohammad Beheshti]]|title=[[Council of the Islamic Revolution|President of the Council of Islamic Revolution]]|years=1980|after=Position abolished}}
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{{s-new|reason=Position established}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of Iran]]|years=1980–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]]}}
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{{s-vac|last=[[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces]]|years=1980–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ruhollah Khomeini]]}}
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{{Presidents of Iran}}
{{Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iran}}
{{Commanders-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banisadr, Abolhassan}}
[[Category:Abolhassan Banisadr| ]]
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of Iran]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran]]
[[Category:Presidents of Iran]]
[[Category:People from Hamadan]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to France]]
[[Category:National Front (Iran) student activists]]
[[Category:People of the Iranian Revolution]]
[[Category:Iran hostage crisis]]
[[Category:Iranian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1980 Iranian presidential election]]
[[Category:Commanders-in-chief of Iran]]
[[Category:Council of the Islamic Revolution members]]
[[Category:Impeached Iranian officials removed from office]]
[[Category:Members of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution]]
[[Category:Iranian people of the Iran–Iraq War]]
[[Category:Office for the Cooperation of the People with the President politicians]]
[[Category:National Council of Resistance of Iran members]]