View source for Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

{{Short description|President of Iran from 1989 to 1997}}
{{redirect|Rafsanjani|the surname|Rafsanjani (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
| native_name         = {{No bold|اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی}}
| native_name_lang    = fa
| image               = Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani by Fars 01 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Undated photo of Rafsanjani
| order               = 4th
| office              = President of Iran
| term_start          = 16 August 1989
| term_end            = 3 August 1997
| 1blankname          = Supreme&nbsp;Leader
| 1namedata           = [[Ali Khamenei]]
| 2blankname          = {{longitem|First Vice President}}
| 2namedata           = [[Hassan Habibi]]
| predecessor         = Ali Khamenei
| successor           = [[Mohammad Khatami]]
| appointer1          = Ali Khamenei
| office1             = Chairperson of [[Expediency Discernment Council]]
| term_start1         = 4 October 1989
| term_end1           = 8 January 2017
| predecessor1        = Ali Khamenei
| successor1          = [[Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi]]
| office2             = [[List of chairmen of the Assembly of Experts|Chairman of the Assembly of Experts]]
| 1blankname2         = Supreme&nbsp;Leader
| 1namedata2          = Ali Khamenei
| term_start2         = 25 July 2007
| term_end2           = 8 March 2011
| predecessor2        = [[Ali Meshkini]]
| successor2          = [[Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani]]
| order3              = 18th
| office3             = Speaker of the Parliament of Iran
| 1blankname3         = First Deputy
| 1namedata3          = {{List collapsed|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
| [[Ali-Akbar Parvaresh]]
| [[Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha]]
| [[Mohammad Yazdi]]
| [[Mehdi Karroubi]]}}
| term_start3         = 28 July 1980
| term_end3           = 3 August 1989
| predecessor3        = [[Javad Saeed]]
| successor3          = [[Mehdi Karroubi]]
| office4             = Member of the [[Assembly of Experts]]
| term_start4         = 15 August 1983
| term_end4           = 8 January 2017
| constituency4       = [[Tehran Province]]
| majority4           = 2,301,492 (5th term)
| successor4          = 
| office5             = [[Tehran's Friday Prayer Temporary Imam]]
| appointer5          = [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| term_start5         = 3 July 1981
| term_end5           = 17 July 2009
| office6             = Member of the [[Parliament of Iran]]
| constituency6       = [[Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr]]
| majority6           = 1,891,264 (81.9%; 2nd term)
| term_start6         = 28 May 1980
| term_end6           = 3 August 1989
| office7             = [[Ministry of Interior (Iran)|Minister of Interior]]
| term_label7         = Acting
| appointer7          = [[Council of the Islamic Revolution|Islamic Revolution Council]]
| term_start7         = 17 November 1979
| term_end7           = 27 February 1980
| predecessor7        = [[Hashem Sabbaghian]]
| successor7          = [[Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani]]
| signature           = Signature of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.svg
| birth_name          = Akbar Hashemi Bahramani
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1934|8|25|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bahreman]], Iran
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2017|1|8|1934|8|25|df=y}}}}
| death_place         = [[Tajrish]], Iran
| resting_place       = [[Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| party               = [[Executives of Construction Party]]
| otherparty          = {{ubl|[[Islamic Republican Party]] (1979–1987)|[[Combatant Clergy Association]] (1987–1996, 2005)}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Effat Marashi]]|1958}}
| children            = {{hlist|[[Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani|Fatemeh]]|[[Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani|Mohsen]]|[[Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani|Faezeh]]|[[Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani|Mehdi]]|[[Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani|Yasser]]}}
| net_worth           = 
| website             = {{official|//web.archive.org/web/20180224034154/http://hashemirafsanjani.ir/}} {{in lang|fa}}
| allegiance          = [[Iran]]
| commands            = Second-in-command, [[Joint Staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army|Joint Chiefs of Staff]]
| battles             = [[Iran–Iraq War]]
| mawards             = [[Order of Fath]] (1st grade)<ref name="Fars News">{{cite news |url=http://www.farsnews.ir/newstext.php?nn=13921029000489 |last=Poursafa |first=Mahdi |script-title=fa:گزارش فارس از تاریخچه نشان‌های نظامی ایران، از «اقدس» تا «فتح»؛ مدال‌هایی که بر سینه سرداران ایرانی نشسته است |trans-title=From "Aghdas" to "Fath": Medals resting on the chest of Iranian Serdars |date=20 January 2014 |agency=[[Fars News]]|access-date=21 October 2014 |language=fa}}</ref>
}}
'''Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani''' ({{langx|fa|اکبر هاشمی بهرمانی رفسنجانی|rtl=yes|link=no}}; 25 August 1934{{Snd}}8 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 of Iran|president]], and chose [[Ali Khamenei]] as the [[Supreme Leader of Iran]].

Rafsanjani became [[President of Iran]] after winning the [[1989 Iranian presidential election|1989 election]]. He served another term by winning the election in [[1993 Iranian presidential election|1993]]. In the [[2005 Iranian presidential election|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 [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests|in 2009]]. Rafsanjani [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 2013 presidential campaign|entered the race]] for the [[2013 Iranian presidential election|2013 presidential election]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Iran's Rafsanjani Registers for presidential race |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/iran-politicians-register-presidential-race |agency=Associated Press |access-date=11 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611094437/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/iran-politicians-register-presidential-race |archive-date=11 June 2013}}</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">{{Cite news |last=Dehghan |first=Saeed Kamali |date=2018-01-09 |title=Iran reopens investigation into Rafsanjani death |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/09/iran-reopens-investigation-into-rafsanjani-death |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Rafsanjani has been described as a pragmatic [[Islamic conservatism|Islamic conservative]]. ''[[The Economist]]'' called him a "veteran kingmaker".<ref>{{cite news |title=Iranian politics after the nuclear deal |url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21699462-supreme-leader-clipping-wings-reformist-president-whos |access-date=29 May 2016 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=28 May 2016}}</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 {{US$|1&nbsp;billion}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |date=2017-01-08 |title=Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ex-President of Iran, Dies at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/world/middleeast/ayatollah-rafsanjani-dead.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</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>[http://www.rferl.org/specials/iranelections/bios/Hashemi-Rafsanjani.asp Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061228044033/http://www.rferl.org/specials/iranelections/bios/Hashemi-Rafsanjani.asp |date=28 December 2006}} from Radio Free Europe</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1342637.html|title=Iran Report: May 9, 2005 |date=11 November 2008 |publisher=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</ref> He had seven siblings.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1d400dda-9d4c-11d9-a227-00000e2511c8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1d400dda-9d4c-11d9-a227-00000e2511c8.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Rafsanjani's possible return creates a buzz in Tehran |work=[[Financial Times]]|date=25 March 2005 }}</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>{{cite news |title=Profile – Hoj. Ali Akbar Rafsanjani |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/IRAN+-+Profile+-+Hoj.+Ali+Akbar+Rafsanjani.-a054528547 |access-date=19 June 2013 |newspaper=APS Review Gas Market Trends |date=19 April 1999}}</ref> One of his brothers, [[Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani|Mohammad Hashemi]], is the former director of [[IRIB]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/pages/?cid=90112 |script-title=fa:برخی ناگفته های محمد هاشمی |work=Tabnak |access-date=8 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816193307/http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/pages/?cid=90112 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> From childhood onward Rafsanjani did not see himself as a peasant, according to family members.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1342637.html|title=Iran Report: May 9, 2005 |date=11 November 2008 |publisher=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</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>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22494982|title=Profile: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|work=BBC News|date=8 January 2017}}</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>{{cite news |date=9 January 2017 |title=زندگینامه اکبرهاشمی رفسنجانی |trans-title=Biography of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |url=http://hamshahrionline.ir/news-32244.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614142241/http://hamshahrionline.ir/news-32244.aspx |archive-date=14 June 2012 |access-date=10 January 2017}}</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 dynasty|Pahlavi]] regime. Khomeini made him the financial manager of the revolutionary struggle as well as the bridge with other revolutionary groups.{{clarify |date=March 2019 |reason=unclear wording}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-09 |title=Rafsanjani, Iran leader whose life mirrored nation's, dies |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/influential-former-iranian-president-hospitalized-162420955.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</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. {{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for both sentences|date=March 2019}}

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>{{Cite web |last=اسلامی |first=مرکز اسناد انقلاب |title=نظر هاشمی‌رفسنجانی درباره امریکا در سال 56 / هدیه ویژه هاشمی‌رفسنجانی برای آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای |trans-title=Hashemi Rafsanjani's opinion about America in 1956 |url=https://irdc.ir/fa/news/1196/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-56-%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%87-%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%98%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=fa |language=fa}}</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>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-09 |title=ماجرای سفر آیت‌الله هاشمی رفسنجانی به تگزاس و کالیفرنیا/ محمد هاشمی: امیرکبیر چهره محبوب مرحوم هاشمی بود |trans-title=The story of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani's trip to Texas and California |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1858602/%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%88-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=خبرآنلاین |language=fa}}</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 [[List of Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams|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">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-rafsanjani-death-idUSKBN14S0V9|title=Rafsanjani, dead at 82, was one of the titans of post-revolutionary Iran|date=9 January 2017}}</ref>

== Chairmanship of the Parliament (1980–1989) ==
[[File:President Rajaei Inauguration at Majlis.jpg|thumb|left|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 Iranian legislative election|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 Iranian presidential election|1989 presidential race]] and became the [[President of Iran|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 Iranian presidential election|October 1981 presidential election]], when he voted for [[Ali Khamenei]], he described it as a vote of "Imam (Khomeini), clerics and the parliament".{{cn|date=May 2024}} During differences between Prime Minister [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]] and Khamenei, Hashemi managed to maintain a compromise between Mousavi's [[Iranian reform movement|reformists]] and Khamenei's [[Iranian Principlists|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>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-08 |title=Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the influential former Iranian president, has died age 82 - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani-influential-former-iranian-president-dies-age-82/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Presidency (1989–1997) ==
[[File:Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 02.jpg|thumb|left|Rafsanjani with newly elected Supreme Leader, [[Ali Khamenei]], 1989|270x270px]]{{Main|Presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani}}
Rafsanjani's presidency reportedly began on 16 August 1989.<ref name="resignation">{{cite web |date=16 August 1989 |title=Letter to Hashemi Rafsanjani and resignation from presidency |url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/message-content?id=2165 |access-date=17 July 2018 |publisher=Khamenei.ir |language=fa}}</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 "[[economic liberalism|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 [[Iran–Iraq War|war with Iraq]].<ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/rafsanjani.htm|title=Hojjatoleslam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|publisher=Globalsecurity.org|access-date=28 January 2011}}</ref> His reforms, despite attempting to curb the powers of the [[Ultraconservatism|ultra-conservatives]], failed to do so, and the [[Iranian Revolutionary Guards]] received increasing power from [[Ali Khamenei|Khamenei]] during his presidency. He was also accused of corruption by both conservatives<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905758,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622065524/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905758,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 June 2009|title=Is Khameini's Ominous Sermon a Turning Point for Iran? |date=19 June 2009|magazine=Time}}</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." {{cite news|last=Slackman|first=Michael|date=21 June 2009|title=Former President at Center of Fight Within Political Elite|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/world/middleeast/22rafsanjani.html}}</ref> and was known for tough crackdowns on dissent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://countercurrents.org/2017/01/the-legacy-of-irans-powerful-cleric-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani/|title=The Legacy Of Iran's Powerful Cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani&#124; Countercurrents|date=19 January 2017|website=countercurrents.org}}</ref>

=== Domestic policy ===
Rafsanjani advocated a [[Market economy|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|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>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1804628,00.html|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Voice of ambition|date=23 June 2006|access-date=23 April 2010}}</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>{{Cite web |title=خطای نابهنگام |url=http://www.irna.com/en/news/view/line-22/0612123513174634.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223060736/http://www.irna.com/en/news/view/line-22/0612123513174634.htm |archive-date=23 February 2012 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.irna.com |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the projects he initiated are [[Islamic Azad University]].<ref>[http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2006/11/000464.php Rafsanjani to Ahmadinejad: We Will Not Back Down, ROOZ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030073449/http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2006/11/000464.php |date=30 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=يادگارهاي مديريت 16 ساله :: RajaNews.Com :: |url=http://www.rajanews.com/News/?7053 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602005452/http://www.rajanews.com/News/?7053 |archive-date=2 June 2008 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.rajanews.com |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Some Iranian commanders of Iran-Iraq War.jpg|thumb|Rafsanjani with some Iranian commanders of [[Iran–Iraq War]]|244x244px]]
During his presidency, a period in which Rafsanjani is described by western media sources as having been the most powerful figure in Iran,{{additional citations needed|date=October 2024}} 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">{{Cite news |last=Sciolino |first=Elaine |date=2009-07-18 |title=Iranian Critic Quotes Khomeini Principles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/world/middleeast/19assess.html?_r=1&hp |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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

{{quote|God's law prescribes four punishments for them (the Mojahedin). 1-Kill them. 2-Hang them, 3-Cut off their hands and feet 4-Banish them. If we had killed two hundred of them right after the Revolution, their numbers would not have mounted this way. I repeat that according to the Quran, we are determined to destroy all [Mojahedin] who display enmity against Islam.}}

Rafsanjani also worked with Khamenei to maintain the stability of government after the death of Khomeini.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Menashri|title=post revolutionary politics in iran|page=62|year=2001|publisher=Frank Cass}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
[[File:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Kofi Annan in Tehran.jpg|thumb|left|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–Iran relations|Azerbaijan]], [[Iran–Turkmenistan relations|Turkmenistan]] and [[Iran–Kazakhstan relations|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">{{Cite web |last=El-Labbad |first=Mustafa |title=Al-Ahram Weekly {{!}} Region {{!}} Showdown in Tehran |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/748/re1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508043902/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/748/re1.htm |archive-date=8 May 2013 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=weekly.ahram.org.eg |url-status=live }}</ref>

He condemned both the United States and [[Ba'athist Iraq]] during the [[Gulf War|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 [[The Satanic Verses|''Satanic Verses'']].
[[File:Hashemi Rafsanjani at Beit Rahbari.jpg|thumb|245x245px|Rafsanjani at the [[Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran|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>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-24/0612281096010001.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114004735/http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-24/0612281096010001.htm|url-status=dead|title=Iran ready for comprehensive assistance to the Iraqi nation – Rafsanjani – Irna|archivedate=14 January 2007}}</ref>
[[File:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani by Fars 05.jpg|thumb|right|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>{{page needed|date=January 2016}}

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>{{Cite web |title=Rafsanjani reassures West Iran not after A-bomb |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2007/iran-070223-irna03.htm |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.globalsecurity.org}}</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>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21578110-two-last-ditch-presidential-contenders-may-rattle-ruling-clerics-candidacy|title=A candidacy conundrum|newspaper=The Economist|date=18 May 2013}}</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 [[Technocracy|technocrats]]. Characteristic of the construction government was that it paid much attention to the development of industrial and transportation infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.rahbordsyasi.ir/article_114936_en.html|title=Constructivism, Western modernity and foreign policy of Hashemi Rafsanjani's time|first=Saeed|last=Chehrazad|date=21 November 2020|journal=Journal of Political Strategy|volume=4|issue=14|pages=105–117|via=rahbordsyasi.ir|doi=10.29252/JPS.4.14.105|doi-broken-date=11 July 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Executives of Construction Party {{!}} Iran Data Portal |url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/executives-of-construction-party-2 |access-date=2025-05-17 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jgeoqeshm.ir/article_121743_en.html|title=Regional planning in the analysis of the development discourse of the construction government|first1=Aref|last1=Bidar|first2=Alireza|last2=Esmailzad|first3=Amin Nawakhti|last3=Moghaddam|date=21 November 2020|journal=Quarterly of Geography & Regional Planning|volume=10|issue=40|pages=421–433|via=jgeoqeshm.ir}}</ref>

== After the presidency ==
[[File:IRAN election.jpg|thumb|left|Rafsanjani supporters in the [[2005 Iranian presidential election|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" />

[[File:Golpaygani-Rafsanjani-Ahmadinejad.jpg|thumb|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&nbsp;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 of Iran|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>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=2007-09-05 |title=Ex-President Back in Spotlight in Iran, as He Wins Leadership of Council |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/world/middleeast/05rafsanjani.html?ref=aliakbarhashemirafsanjani&_r=0 |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://zamaaneh.com/news/2009/03/post_8256.html|script-title=fa:انتخاب مجدد هاشمی به ریاست خبرگان|language=fa|date=10 March 2009<!-- 20 Esfand 1387 AP -->}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/03/090310_op_rafsanjani.shtml|script-title=fa:انتخاب مجدد هاشمی رفسنجانی به ریاست مجلس خبرگان|work=BBC Persian|language=fa|date=10 March 2009}}</ref> On 8 March 2011, he withdrew from the election and Ayatollah [[Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani]] was elected as his replacement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/story/214628.html In Rafsanjani's election to key post, Iran moderates see victory] ''The Indian Express'', 6 September 2007</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-03-08 |title=Rafsanjani Loses Key Iran Post |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran_rafsanjani_assembly_of_experts/2331272.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref>

Following his presidency, Rafsanjani also became an advocate of greater [[freedom of expression]] and [[Toleration|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>{{cite news|author=بهروز کارونی|url=http://www.radiofarda.com/content/f35_Akbarin_Hashemi/1779320.html|script-title=fa:اکبرین: هاشمی به صراحت وجود اختناق را تایید کرد - 2011تمام حقوق این وب‌سایت بر اساس قانون کپی‌رایت برای رادیو فردا محفوظ است|work=Radio Farda|date=17 July 2009|access-date=28 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Daragahi|first1=Borzou|last2=Mostaghim|first2=Ramin|date=18 July 2009|title=Iranian protesters galvanized by sermon|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-iran-prayers18-2009jul18,0,2475629.story|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090721033150/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-iran-prayers18-2009jul18,0,2475629.story|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=18 July 2009|title=Clashes as key Iranian cleric warns leaders|publisher=CNN|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/17/iran.rafsanjani/}}</ref> The event has been considered by analysts as the most important and most turbulent Friday prayer in the history of contemporary Iran.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4496564,00.html?maca=per-rss-per-all-1491-rdf|script-title=fa:اعتراضی‌ترین نمازجمعه‌ی تاریخ معاصر ایران |publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=17 July 2009|access-date=28 January 2011}}</ref> Nearly 1.5 to 2.5&nbsp;million people attended the speech in Tehran.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fararu.com/vdch6xni.23n6qdftt2.html|script-title=fa:پايگاه خبری تحليلی فرارو - جمعيت حاضر در نماز جمعه تهران چقدر بودند؟|work=Fararu|access-date=28 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410122856/http://www.fararu.com/vdch6xni.23n6qdftt2.html|archive-date=10 April 2010}}</ref>

=== 2009 election protests ===
{{Main|2009 Iranian presidential election|2009 Iranian election protests}}
[[File:Karroubi and Hashemi.jpg|thumb|left|Rafsanjani with one of the protest leaders, [[Mehdi Karroubi]]]]
During the [[2009 Iranian presidential election|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">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mihan.net/59/mihan-59-06-01.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529084242/http://www.mihan.net/59/mihan-59-06-01.htm|url-status=dead|title=Amir Farshad Ebrahimi's video taped confession transcript|archivedate=29 May 2009}}</ref> and later sentenced to six months in jail on charges of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

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>{{Cite news |date=2009-10-15 |title=Iran Sources Dismiss Buzz Over Khamenei Health |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Iran_Sources_Dismiss_Buzz_Over_Khamenei_Health/1852718.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</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>{{Cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |last2=Black |first2=Ian |date=2009-06-14 |title=World leaders urged by Iran's opposition party to reject Ahmadinejad's alleged victory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/14/iran-ahmadinejad-mousavi-elections-result |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</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>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Iran/idUSTRE55P3WI20090626|work=Reuters|title=Rafsanjani's future at stake in Iran turmoil|date=26 June 2009}}</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>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-17 |title=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/?view=nationworld_article&feed:a=chi_trib_5min&feed:c=nationworld&feed:i=48120341&nopaging=1 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

<blockquote>
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>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-prayers17-2009jul17,0,2003066.story|work=Los Angeles Times|title=In Iran, tensions build ahead of Rafsanjani's Friday sermon|first1=Borzou|last1=Daragahi|first2=Ramin|last2=Mostaghim|date=17 July 2009}}</ref></blockquote>

His support for the [[Iranian Green Movement|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>{{Cite web |title=Iran: Ex-Leader Rafsanjani Loses Role |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2057794,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124055808/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2057794,00.html |archive-date=24 November 2011 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.time.com |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 2013 presidential elections ===
{{Main|Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 2013 presidential campaign}}
[[File:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani announcing his candidacy in 2013 election.jpg|thumb|Rafsanjani announcing his candidacy with his daughter, Fatemeh accompanied him.|230x230px]]
On 11 May 2013, Rafsanjani registered for the 14 June presidential election with just minutes to spare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/11/rafsanjani-stand-iran-presidential-election|title=Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to stand in Iran presidential election|date=11 May 2013|website=The Guardian}}</ref> Former reformist president [[Mohammad Khatami]] endorsed him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/iran-political-big-hitters-run-president-070652616.html|title=Rafsanjani's last-minute entry transforms Iranian race – Yahoo! News|work=Yahoo! News }}</ref> However, on 21 May 2013, Iran's electoral center, [[Guardian Council]] disqualified him from standing in the presidential election.<ref name=rooz22>{{cite news|last=Bahmani|first=Arash|title=The Arbiter of State Expediency is Disqualified|url=http://www.roozonline.com/english/news3/newsitem/article/the-arbiter-of-state-expediency-is-disqualified.html|access-date=16 June 2013|newspaper=Rooz|date=22 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027154331/http://www.roozonline.com/english/news3/newsitem/article/the-arbiter-of-state-expediency-is-disqualified.html|archive-date=27 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2013/06/130611_l39_rafsanjani_rowhani_ir92.shtml|title=اعلام حمایت هاشمی رفسنجانی از روحانی|date=11 June 2013|work=BBC Persian}}</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 Iranian legislative election|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/08/how-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani-s-death-will-empower-the-ayatollah.html|title=How Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Death Will Empower the Ayatollah|date=9 January 2017}}</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>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/44b5fcda-d5ed-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/44b5fcda-d5ed-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian politician, 1934–2017|date=9 January 2017}}</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 Iranian legislative election|2016 legislative election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/iran-reformists-stand-lose-rafsanjani-death-170109100325733.html|title=Iran's reformists stand to lose from Rafsanjani's death|date=8 January 2017}}</ref>

== Death ==
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani}}
{{Wikinews|Former Irani president Rafsanjani dies, aged 82}}
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>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-38547027 |publisher=BBC Persian Service |script-title=fa:اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی درگذشت|date=8 January 2017 }}</ref><ref name="NY-death">{{cite news|last1=Erdbrink|first1=Thomas|title=Death of Iran's Rafsanjani Removes Influential Voice Against Hard-Liners|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/world/middleeast/iran-ali-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani-dies.html|access-date=8 January 2017|work=The New York Times|date=8 January 2017}}</ref> He was 82 years old at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 January 2017 |title=Iran's ex-President Rafsanjani dies at 82 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38548591}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 January 2017 |title=Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani dead |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/former-iranian-president-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani-dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 January 2017 |title=Iran's ex-president Hashemi Rafsanjani dies at 82 |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/iran-president-hashemi-rafsanjani-dies-82-170108163407762.html}}</ref> The government announced three days of [[National day of mourning|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 Rafsanjani|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">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-28 |title=Iran ex-president Rafsanjani assassinated for his criticism, daughter says |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202510284009 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=www.iranintl.com |language=en}}</ref> Rafsanjani's other daughter, [[Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani|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 [[Closed-circuit television|CCTV]] footage from his office and his supposed place of death, absence of [[Autopsy|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|Supreme National Security Council’s]] official report stated that his body contained radiation levels ten times the safe limit.<ref>{{Cite news |title=پرونده مرگ هاشمی رفسنجانی 'به شورای‌عالی امنیت ملی بازگشت' |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-42602980 |access-date=2025-10-29 |work=BBC News فارسی |language=fa}}</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 ===
[[File:Mykonos restaurant plaque.jpg|thumb|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>{{cite web|last=Barsky|first=Yehudit|title=Hizballah|url=http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/Hizballah_052003.pdf|work=The American Jewish Committee|access-date=5 August 2013|format=Terrorism Briefing|date=May 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184824/http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/Hizballah_052003.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

=== Tension with Ahmadinejad ===
[[File:Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 01.jpg|thumb|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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4443856.stm|work=BBC News|title=Rafsanjani slams Iran president|date=17 November 2005|access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> slow move towards [[Privatization in Iran|privatization]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6290101.stm|agency=BBC News|title=Criticism of Ahmadinejad mounts|date=23 January 2007|access-date=23 April 2010|first=Frances|last=Harrison}}</ref> and recently hostile foreign policy in particular the atomic energy policy.<ref>[http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/11/rafsanjani_ahmadinejad_engage.html Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad Engage in New War of Words (ROOZ: English)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116061350/http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/11/rafsanjani_ahmadinejad_engage.html |date=16 November 2007}}</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>{{Cite web |title=حمله به دولت در اولين كنفرانس خبري پس از 9 سال :: RajaNews.Com :: |url=http://www.rajanews.com/News/?6881 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602005444/http://www.rajanews.com/News/?6881 |archive-date=2 June 2008 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.rajanews.com |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=نمی‌پذیریم عده ای حرف خود را به نام سند چشم انداز مطرح کنند :: RajaNews.Com :: |url=http://www.rajanews.com/News/?5081 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602005438/http://www.rajanews.com/News/?5081 |archive-date=2 June 2008 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.rajanews.com |url-status=live }}</ref> He also implicitly denounced Rafsanjani and his followers by calling those who criticize his nuclear program as "traitors".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7090901.stm|work=BBC News|title=Iran president attacks 'traitors'|date=12 November 2007|access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref>

During a debate with [[Mir-Hossein Moussavi]] in [[2009 Iranian presidential election|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>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/world/middleeast/11iran.html?ref=aliakbarhashemirafsanjani&_r=0|work=The New York Times|first=Robert F. |last=Worth|title=In Iran Race, Ex-Leader Works to Oust President|date=11 June 2009}}</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>{{Cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/khamenei-rafsanjani-treason-mohammadi-tweet-missiles.html|title=Rafsanjani missile tweet draws fire from Khamenei |publisher=Al-Monitor |date=31 March 2016}}</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>{{Cite web|url=http://217.218.67.231/Detail/2017/01/10/505556/Iran-Rafsanjani|title=PressTV-Iran's ex-president Ayatollah Rafsanjani laid to rest|access-date=13 May 2023|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224150814/http://217.218.67.231/Detail/2017/01/10/505556/Iran-Rafsanjani|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=khamenei_ir|author=Khamenei.ir|number=818193262469120001|date=8 January 2017|title=Sorrowfully I received news of sudden demise of my old friend esteemed Hojjat al-Islam wal-Moslemin Sheikh Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/122580/Leader-pays-tribute-to-old-friend-Hashemi-Rafsanjani|title=Leader pays tribute to 'old friend' Hashemi Rafsanjani|date=8 January 2017}}</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>{{Cite web |title=بیانات در دیدار مردم قم |url=https://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=35367}}</ref><ref name=":04">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-28 |title=Iran ex-president Rafsanjani assassinated for his criticism, daughter says |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202510284009 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=www.iranintl.com |language=en}}</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 [[Motalefeh|Islamic Coalition]]'s ''shura-ye ruhaniyat'' ({{literal translation|Council of the
Clergy}})<ref>{{Citation|last1=Buchta|first1=Wilfried|title= Who rules Iran?: the structure of power in the Islamic Republic|publisher=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung| place=Washington DC|year=2000|isbn=0-944029-39-6|page=15}}</ref> and the [[People's Mujahidin of Iran|People's Mujahidin]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Leonard|first=Thomas M.|title=Encyclopedia of the Developing World|year=2006|publisher= Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-415-97663-4|page=1343}}</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>{{citation|author=Abbas William Samii|url=https://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/e9046128-0224-4587-ad8f-1c4ce204b2cd/Iranian-Nuclear-Issue-and-Informal-Networks,-The--.aspx|title=The Iranian Nuclear Issue and Informal Networks|year=2006|journal=Naval War College Review|access-date=26 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514031713/https://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/e9046128-0224-4587-ad8f-1c4ce204b2cd/Iranian-Nuclear-Issue-and-Informal-Networks,-The--.aspx|archive-date=14 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009, Rafsanjani ceased activity in the [[Combatant Clergy Association]], despite remaining a member.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alef.ir/vdcf0ydmyw6dvta.igiw.html?361521 |script-title=fa:روحانی، بهانه انشعاب جامعه روحانیت؟ |language=fa |trans-title=Rouhani: Excuse for Split in Combatant Clergy Association? |date=18 June 2016 |work=[[Shargh]] |publisher=Alef |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Mohammadighalehtaki|first=Ariabarzan|year=2012|title=Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat)|type=PhD thesis|publisher=[[Durham University]]|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3507/|pages=175–177}}</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 Iranian parliamentary elections|2000 parliamentary elections]] as a result of the reformist party severely criticizing and refusing to accept him as their candidate.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} 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 [[2005 Iranian presidential election|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">{{Cite web |title=Rafsanjani's political life reviewed |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/story/2006/10/061003_mv-az-rafsanjani-ahmadinejad |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.bbc.com}}</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">{{Cite book |last=Magen |first=Ze'ev |title=Reading revolutionary Iran: the worldview of the Islamic republic's religio-political elite |date=2023 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-101810-2 |series=Studies on Modern Orient |location=Berlin, Boston |pages=199}}</ref> In a [[Quds Day]] sermon on 23 January 1998, he claimed that Israel was "much worse than [[Adolf Hitler|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 [[Holocaust denial|propaganda act by the Zionists]]."<ref name=":03">{{Citation |last=Litvak |first=Meir |title=Iranian Antisemitism and the Holocaust |date=2017 |work=Antisemitism Before and Since the Holocaust: Altered Contexts and Recent Perspectives |pages=214 |editor-last=McElligott |editor-first=Anthony |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48866-0_9 |access-date=2025-06-16 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-48866-0_9 |isbn=978-3-319-48866-0 |editor2-last=Herf |editor2-first=Jeffrey}}</ref>

== Electoral history ==
[[File:HASHEMI RAFSANJANI- 01.jpg|thumb|Rafsanjani casting his vote in [[2013 Iranian presidential election|2013 presidential election]]|282x282px]]
{{Main|Electoral history of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year !! Election  !!Votes !! % !! Rank !! Notes
|-
|1980||[[1980 Iranian legislative election|Parliament]]||1,151,514||≈54||15th
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1982||[[1982 Iranian Assembly of Experts election|Assembly of Experts]]||2,675,008||84||
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1984||[[1984 Iranian legislative election|Parliament]]||{{increase}} 1,891,264||{{increase}} 81.9||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1988||[[1988 Iranian legislative election|Parliament]]||{{decrease}} 1,573,587||{{increase}} 82.3||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1989||[[1989 Iranian presidential election|President]]||15,537,394||96.1||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1990||[[1990 Iranian Assembly of Experts election|Assembly of Experts]]||{{decrease}} 1,604,834||{{increase}} 85||
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1993||[[1993 Iranian presidential election|President]]||{{decrease}} 10,449,933||{{decrease}} 64||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1998||[[1998 Iranian Assembly of Experts election|Assembly of Experts]]||{{increase}} 1,682,188||{{decrease}} 60||
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|2000||[[2000 Iranian legislative election|Parliament]]||{{decrease}} 749,884||{{decrease}} 25.58||30th
| style="background-color:#C0C0C0"|''Won but withdrew''
|-
|rowspan="2"|2005||[[2005 Iranian presidential election|President]] ||{{decrease}} 6,211,937||{{decrease}} 21.13||1st
| style="background-color:#FFFFE0"|''Went to run-off''
|-
||[[2005 Iranian presidential election|President]] <small>run-off</small>||{{increase}} 10,046,701||{{increase}} 35.93||2nd
| style="background-color:#C66"|Lost
|-
|2006||[[2006 Iranian Assembly of Experts election|Assembly of Experts]]||{{decrease}} 1,564,197||{{decrease}} ≈41||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|2013||[[2013 Iranian presidential election|President]]
!colspan="3"|–
| style="background-color:#C0C0C0"|''Disqualified''
|-
|2016||[[2016 Iranian Assembly of Experts election|Assembly of Experts]]
||{{increase}} 2,301,492||{{increase}} 51.13||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|}

== Personal life ==
[[File:Effat Marashi 01.jpg|thumb|185x185px|Marashi]]
From his marriage to [[Effat Marashi]] in 1958,<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/19/world/rafsanjani-sketches-vision-of-a-moderate-modern-iran.html?pagewanted=1 |title=Rafsanjani Sketches Vision of a Moderate, Modern Iran |last=Sciolino |first=Elaine |date=19 April 1992 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=9 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621053311/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/19/world/rafsanjani-sketches-vision-of-a-moderate-modern-iran.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date=21 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Rafsanjani had three sons: [[Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani|Mohsen]], [[Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani|Mehdi]], and [[Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani|Yasser]], as well as two daughters, Fatemeh and [[Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani|Faezeh]].<ref name=aps19apr /> Only Faezeh Hashemi chose a political life, which led to her becoming a [[Majlis of Iran|Majlis]] representative and then the publisher of the weekly newspaper ''[[Zan (newspaper)|Zan]]'' (meaning ''Woman'' in English), which was closed in February 1999.<ref>{{cite book|last=Buchta|first=Wilfried|title=Who Rules Iran? The Structure of Power in the Islamic Republic|year=2000|publisher=The Washington Inst. for Near East Policy [u.a.]|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-944029-39-6|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/WhoRulesIran.pdf|access-date=14 August 2013|archive-date=24 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324173725/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/WhoRulesIran.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2016, his daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, sparked a debate on religious persecution in Iran by visiting the female leader of the [[Persecution of Baháʼís|persecuted Baháʼí]] religious minority.<ref>{{cite web|title=I am not regret of meeting Bahaee leader|url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1395/02/26/1076228/%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D8%B6%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%BE%D8%B4%DB%8C%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%88-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%86%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%85|website=Tasnim|access-date=12 January 2017|language=fa|year=2016}}</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>{{cite web|title=Mohsen Hashemi resignation|url=http://www.zahedan-tebyan.ir/cms/printit.asp?id=16945|publisher=Parineh|access-date=12 January 2017|language=fa|archive-date=13 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113144208/http://www.zahedan-tebyan.ir/cms/printit.asp?id=16945|url-status=dead}}</ref> and now is vice president of [[Azad University]]. His wife, Effat is the granddaughter of [[Mohammed Kazem Yazdi]].

=== Family tree ===
<ref>{{cite web|script-title=fa:تصاویر منتشر نشده خانواده آیت الله هاشمی |access-date=28 March 2015|publisher=fararu.com|url=http://fararu.com/fa/news/50024/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C|language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|script-title=fa:شجره نامه هاشمی رفسنجانی|access-date=28 March 2015|publisher=shafaf.ir|url=http://shafaf.ir/fa/pages/?cid=592|language=fa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411154621/http://shafaf.ir/fa/pages/?cid=592|archive-date=11 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</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>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/04/the-middle-road-of-hashemi-rafsanjani.html |title=The Middle Road of Hashemi Rafsanjani |publisher=PBS |date=28 April 2010 |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref>

Hashemi and his partners also owned [[Islamic Azad University]], worth an estimated {{US$|20–25 billion}}.<ref name="Azadi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.turquoisepartners.com/iraninvestment/IIM-Jul10.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=26 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205173835/http://www.turquoisepartners.com/iraninvestment/IIM-Jul10.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hashemi assets|url=http://www.seratnews.ir/fa/news/10462/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%88-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B4-250-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86|access-date=12 January 2017|language=fa}}</ref>

Rafsanjani's three sons own properties in Dubai, including two apartments in the Burj Khalifa.<ref>{{Cite news |last=RFE/RL |date=2024 |title=Convicts, Wealthy Iranians With State Ties Implicated In Leaked Property Data |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/32951628.html |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}}</ref>

=== Assassination attempts ===
[[File:Hashemi Rafsanjani after assassination attempt.jpg|thumb|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", [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeini]] said in announcing that Rafsanjani had survived.

== Books ==
* ''[[Collection of daily memos of Hashemi Rafsanjani|Memories]]''
* ''The Combat Era''<ref>Moslem, Mehdi. Factional politics in post-Khomeini Iran. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2002. 371. {{ISBN|0-8156-2978-8}}.</ref>
* ''Amir Kabir: the Hero of Fighting against Imperialism'' (1968)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.sharif.ir/parvan/resource/259449/%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D9%82%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%87_%D8%A8%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1|title=امیرکبیر یا قهرمان مبارزه با استعمار|first=هاشمی رفسنجانی،|last=اکبر.|date=1967|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117001825/http://library.sharif.ir/parvan/resource/259449/%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D9%82%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%87_%D8%A8%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1|archive-date=17 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sahimi |first1=Muhammad |title=The Middle Road of Hashemi Rafsanjani |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/04/the-middle-road-of-hashemi-rafsanjani.html |access-date=21 May 2024 |work=[[Tehran Bureau]] |date=28 April 2010 |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Tafsir Rahnama]]''<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.noormags.com/view/fa/articlepage/6640|script-title=fa:تفسیر راهنما از آغاز تا کنون|author=یزدی،محمد علی|journal=پژوهش و حوزه|date=2 January 1380 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=98–105 }}</ref>
* ''Explicit Letters''

In addition, the full text of his [[Friday Prayer]] sermons and his congress keynote speeches are also published separately.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2011/06/110629_l13_hashemi_memoirs_ganji.shtml |script-title=fa:فارسی - ايران - نگاهی دیگر: خاطرات اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی و حذف روایت کشتار ۶۷ |work=BBC News|date=29 June 2011 }}</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>{{cite book |author=Sayyed Ali Sadat Fakhr|url=http://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/338619/%d9%81%d8%b1%d9%87%d9%86%da%af-%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a2%d9%86-(%da%a9%d9%84%db%8c%d8%af-%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%87%db%8c%d8%a7%d8%a8%db%8c-%d8%a8%d9%87-%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b6%d9%88%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%88-%d9%85%d9%81%d8%a7%d9%87%db%8c%d9%85-%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a2%d9%86-%da%a9%d8%b1%db%8c%d9%85%d8%8c-%d8%a7%da%a9%d8%a8%d8%b1-%d9%87%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%85%db%8c-%d8%b1%d9%81%d8%b3%d9%86%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86%db%8c)?q=%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%20%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A8%D8%B1%20%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C%20%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C&score=2086.5774&rownumber=6 |title=Encyclopedia of Quran |year=2006 |pages=95–97 }}</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>{{cite book |author=Anoushiravan Enteshami & Mahjoob Zweiri |title=Iran and the rise of Neoconservatives, the politics of Tehran's silent Revolution |year=2007 |pages=4–5 |publisher=I. B. Tauris}}</ref> His powerful role and control over Iranian politics earned him the name "Akbar Shah".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wright |first=Robin |date=2017-01-09 |title=Rafsanjani, Iran's Wiliest Revolutionary, Dies |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/rafsanjani-irans-wiliest-revolutionary-dies |access-date=2025-05-17 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Black |first1=Ian |last2=Dehghan |first2=Saeed Kamali |date=2013-05-16 |title=Iran election: Rafsanjani defends decision to stand as his 'national duty' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/16/iran-election-rafsanjani-defends-decision-stand |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== See also ==
{{portal|Iran|Biography}}
* [[Government of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989–97)]]
*[[List of ayatollahs]]
*[[List of members in the First Term of the Council of Experts]]
{{clear}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*Torbat, Akbar (2017), [http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/19/the-legacy-of-irans-powerful-cleric-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani/ 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]]
*[[Saïd Amir Arjomand|Amir Arjomand, Said]], ''After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors '', Editor: [[Oxford University Press]]
*[[Baqer Moin|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 ==
{{sisterlinks|c=Category:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|n=yes|d=yes|s=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}

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'''Official'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120624064227/http://www.hashemirafsanjani.ir/en Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Official Website]
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'''Other'''
* [http://www.rafsanjani.ir/ All News About Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023440/http://www.irvl.net/six_snapshots.htm Iranian Economy in Six Snapshots]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080206151524/http://isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-763171&Lang=P Rafsanjani's response to some allegations] (ISNA, in Persian)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051122105924/http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-541466 ISNA interview with Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani about the Rafsanjani family] (in Persian)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312094014/http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=399wmv&ak=null Friday Sermon at Tehran University: We Will Soon Join The Nuclear Club – For Peaceful Purposes] (video clip from 3 December 2004)
* [http://irannegah.com/video_browse.aspx?keyword=rafsanjani '''Video Archive of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani''']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070110092602/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962858,00.html "The U.S. and Iran" by George Church]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111004170312/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=al_shiraa_1 Arms for Hostage Deals]

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{{s-ttl|title=[[President of Iran]]|years=1989–1997}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Deputy [[Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces]]|years=1988–1989}}
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{{succession box|before=None|title=Chairman of Board of Trustees of [[Islamic Azad University]]|years=1982–2017|after=[[Ali Akbar Velayati]]}}
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{{s-vac|last=[[Javad Saeed]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Speakers of the Parliament of Iran|Speaker of the Parliament]]|years=1980–1989}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mehdi Karroubi]]}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Fakhreddin Hejazi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Most voted MP for [[Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr (electoral district)|Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr]]|years=[[1984 Iranian legislative election|1984]], [[1988 Iranian legislative election|1988]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ali-Akbar Mousavi Hosseini]]}}
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{{Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani}}
{{Presidents of Iran}}
{{Chairmen of the Majlis of Iran}}
{{1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafsanjani, Akbar Hashemi}}
[[Category:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani| ]]
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[[Category:Centrism in Iran]]
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[[Category:1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners]]