View source for Mohammad Khatami

{{short description|President of Iran from 1997 to 2005}}
{{for|other persons with this surname|Khatami (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{use Oxford spelling|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Seyyed]]<br>[[Amir (Iranian Army)|Amir]]<br>[[Hojjat-ol Eslam]]
| name                = Mohammad Khatami
| honorific-suffix    = 
| native_name         = محمد خاتمی
| native_name_lang    = fa
| image               = Mohammad Khatami - December 11, 2007.jpg
| caption             = Khatami in 2007
| office              = 5th [[President of Iran]]
| term_start          = 3 August 1997
| term_end            = 3 August 2005
| 1blankname          = Supreme&nbsp;Leader
| 1namedata           = [[Ali Khamenei]]
| 2blankname          = Vice President
| 2namedata           = [[Hassan Habibi]]<br>[[Mohammad Reza Aref]]
| predecessor         = [[Akbar Rafsanjani]]
| successor           = [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
| office2             = [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance]]
| term_start2         = 9 November 1982
| term_end2           = 24 May 1992
| predecessor2        = [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]] (acting)
| successor2          = [[Ali Larijani]]
| president2          = Ali Khamenei<br>Akbar Rafsanjani
| primeminister2      = Mir-Hossein Mousavi
| office3             = Member of the [[Parliament of Iran]]
| term_start3         = 28 May 1980
| term_end3           = 24 August 1982
| height              = 1.8m
| constituency3       = [[Yazd]], [[Ardakan County|Ardakan district]]
| predecessor3        = [[Manouchehr Yazdi]]
| successor3          = Mohammad Hosseininejad
| majority3           = 40,112 (82.1%)<ref>{{cite web|title=Parliament members|url=http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/parliament_member/show/762493|publisher=Iranian Majlis|access-date=28 October 2014|language=fa|archive-date=29 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229172111/http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/parliament_member/show/762493|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1943|10|14}}
| birth_place         = [[Ardakan]], [[Yazd Province|Yazd]], [[Pahlavi Iran|Imperial State of Iran]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Isfahan]]<br>[[University of Tehran]]
| party               = [[Association of Combatant Clerics]]
| father              = [[Ruhollah Khatami]]
| relatives           = [[Mohammad-Reza Khatami]] (brother)<br>[[Ali Khatami]] (brother)<br>[[Mohammad Reza Tabesh]] (nephew)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Zohreh Sadeghi]]|1974}}
| children            = 3
| website             = [http://www.Khatami.ir/  Official website]
| serviceyears        = 1969–1971<ref name="asriran"/>
| signature           = Mohammad Khatami signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Mohammad Khatami
| branch              = [[Islamic Republic of Iran Army|Iranian Imperial Army]]<ref name="asriran"/>
| rank                = [[Second lieutenant]]; financial specialist<ref name="asriran">{{Cite web|url=https://www.asriran.com/fa/news/266530|title=کارت پایان خدمت خاتمی (عکس)|first=عصر|last=ایران|date=23 January 1392|website=fa}}</ref>
| unit                = Tehran region 3 sustainment<ref name="asriran"/>
| awards              = 
}}
'''Mohammad Khatami''' ({{langx|fa|محمد خاتمی|Mohammad Xâtami}}; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth [[president of Iran]] from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's [[Minister of Culture]] from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critical of the government of subsequent President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].

Little known internationally before becoming president, Khatami attracted attention during [[1997 Iranian presidential election|his first election to the presidency]] when he received almost 70% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1373476.stm |title=Profile: Mohammad Khatami |work=BBC News|date=6 June 2001|access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> Khatami had run on a platform of liberalization and reform. During his election campaign, Khatami proposed the idea of [[Dialogue Among Civilizations]] as a response to [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel P. Huntington's]] 1992 theory of a [[Clash of Civilizations]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Khatami Speaks of Dialogue among Civilizations|url=http://www.irdiplomacy.ir/en/news/8798/khatami-speaks-of-dialogue-among-civilizations|access-date=11 October 2021|website=diplomacy|language=en}}</ref> The United Nations later proclaimed the year 2001 as the ''Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations'', on Khatami's suggestion.<ref name="unesco.org">{{cite web|title=Dialogue among Civilizations|url=http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205193502/http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/|archive-date=5 February 2007|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|title=Round Table: Dialogue among Civilizations United Nations, New York, 5 September 2000 Provisional verbatim transcription|url=http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/khatami.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310224647/http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/khatami.htm|archive-date=10 March 2007|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Petito|first=Fabio|date=2004|title=Khatami' Dialogue among Civilizations as International Political Theory|url=https://eijh.modares.ac.ir/article-27-9945-en.pdf|journal=International Journal of Humanities|volume=11|issue=3|pages=11–29}}</ref> During his two terms as president, Khatami advocated [[freedom of expression]], tolerance and [[civil society]], constructive diplomatic relations with other states, including those in Asia and the [[European Union]], and an economic policy that supported a [[free market]] and foreign investment.

On 8 February 2009, Khatami announced that he would run in the [[2009 Iranian presidential election|2009 presidential election]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7877740.stm|work=BBC News|title=Iran's Khatami to run for office|date=8 February 2009|access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> but withdrew on 16 March in favour of his long-time friend and adviser, former prime minister of Iran [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0316/breaking23.htm|title=Former Iranian president exits election race|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=16 March 2009|date=3 March 2009}}</ref> The Iranian media are forbidden on the orders of Tehran's prosecutor from publishing pictures of Khatami, or quoting his words, on account of his support for the defeated reformist candidates in the disputed 2009 re-election of [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/irans-rouhani-praises-khatami-role-recent-vote-112742491.html | title=Iran's Rouhani praises Khatami role in recent vote}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Khatami was born on 14 October 1943, in the small town of [[Ardakan]], in [[Yazd Province]] into a [[sayyid]] family. He married [[Zohreh Sadeghi]], the daughter of a professor of religious law, and niece of [[Musa al-Sadr]], in 1974 (at the age of 31). The couple have two daughters and one son: Laila (born 1975), Narges (born 1980), and Emad (born 1988).

[[File:Mohammad Khatami in military service uniform.jpg|200px|thumbnail|Khatami in [[military service]] uniform, 1970|left]]Khatami's father, [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khatami]], was a high-ranking cleric and the [[Khatib]] (the one who delivers the sermon for Friday prayers) in the city of [[Yazd]] in the early years of the [[Iranian Revolution]].

Khatami's brother, [[Mohammad-Reza Khatami]], was elected as Tehran's first member of parliament in the 6th term of parliament, during which he served as deputy speaker of the parliament. He also served as the secretary-general of [[Islamic Iran Participation Front]] (Iran's largest reformist party) for several years. Mohammad Reza is married to [[Zahra Eshraghi]], a feminist human rights activist and granddaughter of [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] (founder of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]).

Khatami's other brother, [[Ali Khatami]], a businessman with a master's degree in [[Industrial Engineering]] from [[Polytechnic University in Brooklyn]],<ref name="Persian Mirrors">{{cite book  | last = Sciolino  | first = Elaine  | title = Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran  | publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]]  | year = 2001  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/persianmirrors00elai/page/79 79–80]  | isbn = 0-7432-1779-9  | url-access = registration  |url=https://archive.org/details/persianmirrors00elai/page/79  }}</ref> served as the President's Chief of Staff during President Khatami's second term in office, where he kept an unusually low profile.

Khatami's eldest sister, Fatemeh Khatami, was elected as the first representative of the people of [[Ardakan]] (Khatami's hometown) in 1999 [[City and Village Councils of Iran|city council]] elections.

Mohammad Khatami is not related to [[Ahmad Khatami]], a hardline cleric and Provisional Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=46317 |title=Iranian Cleric: Fatwa Against Rushdie is 'Still Alive' |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211133257/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=46317 |archive-date=11 December 2007 }}</ref><ref>[http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0707201720152158.htm U.S. policies on Iran defeated] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211112656/http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0707201720152158.htm |date=11 December 2008 }}, Ahmad Khatami 20 July 2007, IRNA</ref>

Mohammad Khatami received a [[Bachelors of Arts|BA]] in [[Western philosophy]] at [[Isfahan University]], but left academia while studying for a master's degree in educational sciences at [[Tehran University]] and went to [[Qom]] to complete his previous studies in Islamic sciences. He studied there for seven years and completed the courses to the highest level, [[Ijtihad]]. After that, he briefly settled in Germany to chair the [[Islamic Centre Hamburg|Islamic Centre]] in Hamburg from 1978 to 1980.

Before serving as president, Khatami was a representative in the [[Majlis of Iran|parliament]] from 1980 to 1982, supervisor of the [[Kayhan]] Institute, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance (1982–1986), and then for a second term from 1989 to 24 May 1992 (when he resigned), the head of the [[National Library of Iran]] from 1992 to 1997, and a member of the [[Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution]]. He is a member and chairman of the Central Council of the [[Association of Combatant Clerics]]. Besides his native language [[Farsi|Persian]], Khatami speaks [[Arabic]], [[English language|English]], and [[German language|German]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1373476.stm|work=BBC News|title=Profile: Mohammad Khatami|date=6 June 2001}}</ref>

==Presidency (1997–2005)==
{{Main|Presidency of Mohammad Khatami|Mohammad Khatami's reforms}}
[[File:Flickr - World Economic Forum - Mohammad Khatami - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2004.jpg|thumb|Khatami giving a speech at the [[World Economic Forum]] Annual Meeting in 2004]]

Running on a reform agenda, Khatami was elected president on 23 May 1997, in what many have described as a remarkable election. Voter turnout was nearly 80%. Despite limited television airtime, most of which went to the conservative Speaker of Parliament and favored candidate [[Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri]], Khatami received 70 percent of the vote. "Even in Qom, the center of theological training in Iran and a conservative stronghold, 70% of voters cast their ballots for Khatami."<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/elections.html |title=1997 Presidential Election|publisher=PBS|date=16 May 2013|access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> He was re-elected on 8 June 2001 for a second term and stepped down on 3 August 2005 after serving his maximum two consecutive terms under the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic's constitution]].

Khatami supporters have been described as a "coalition of strange bedfellows, including traditional leftists, business leaders who wanted the state to open up the economy and allow more foreign investment, and younger voters.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Khatami’s ascendancy was a prelude to a dynamic reform thrust that injected hope into Iranian society, whipped up a dormant nation after eight years of war with Iraq in the 1980s and the costly post-conflict reconstruction, and incorporated terms in the political lexicon of young Iranians that were not previously embedded in the national discourse, nor did they count as priorities for the majority of the people.

The day of his election, 2 Khordad, 1376, in the [[Iranian calendar]], is regarded as the starting date of "reforms" in Iran. His followers are therefore usually known as the "[[2nd of Khordad Movement]]".

Khatami is regarded as Iran's first reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the rule of law, democracy, and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process. However, his policies of reform led to repeated clashes with the hardline and conservative Islamists in the Iranian government, who control powerful governmental organizations like the [[Guardian Council]], whose members are appointed by the Supreme Leader.

As President, according to the Iranian political system, Khatami was outranked by the [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]]. Thus, Khatami had no legal authority over key state institutions such as the armed forces, the police, the army, the revolutionary guards, the state radio and television, and the prisons. (See [[Politics of Iran]]).

Khatami presented the so-called "twin bills" to the parliament during his term in office, these two pieces of proposed legislation would have introduced small but key changes to the national election laws of Iran and also presented a clear definition of the president's power to prevent constitutional violations by state institutions. Khatami himself described the "twin bills" as the key to the progress of reforms in Iran. The bills were approved by the parliament but were eventually vetoed by the Guardian Council.
{{Infobox cabinet members
| above = Cabinet of Mohammad Khatami

| office1 = [[President of Iran|President]]
|  name1a = Mohammad Khatami
|  term1a = 1997–2005

| office2 = [[Vice President of Iran|First Vice President]]
|  name2a = [[Hassan Habibi]]
|  term2a = 1997–2001
|  name2b = [[Mohammad Reza Aref]]
|  term2b = 2001–2005

| office3 = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Foreign Affairs]]
|  name3a = [[Kamal Kharrazi]]
|  term3a = 1997–2005

| office4 = [[Ministry of Agriculture (Iran)|Agricultural]]
|  name4a = [[Issa Kalantari]]
|  term4a = 1997–1998
|  name4b = [[Mohammad Saeedikia]]
|  term4b = 1998–2000
|  name4c = [[Mahmoud Hojjati]]
|  term4c = 2000–2005

| office5 = [[Ministry of Commerce of Iran|Commerce]]
|  name5a = [[Mohammad Shariatmadar]]
|  term5a = 1997–2005

| office6 = [[Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Iran|ICT]]
|  name6a = [[Mohammad Reza Aref]]
|  term6a = 1997–2000
|  name6b = [[Ahmad Motamedi]]
|  term6b = 2000–2005

| office7 = [[Ministry of Cooperatives of Iran|Cooperatives]]
|  name7a = Morteza Haaji
|  term7a = 1997–2001
|  name7b = [[Ali Soufi]]
|  term7b = 2001–2005

| office8 = [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran|Culture]]
|  name8a = [[Attaollah Mohajerani]]
|  term8a = 1997–2000
|  name8b = [[Ahmad Masjed-Jamei]]
|  term8b = 2000–2005

| office9 = [[Ministry of Defense and Logistics of Iran|Defense]]
|  name9a = [[Ali Shamkhani]]
|  term9a = 1997–2005

| office10 = [[Ministry of Economy and Finance Affairs of Iran|Economy]]
|  name10a = [[Hossein Namazi]]
|  term10a = 1997–2001
|  name10b = [[Tahmasb Mazaheri]]
|  term10b = 2001–2004
|  name10c = [[Safdar Hosseini]]
|  term10c = 2004–2005

| office11 = [[Ministry of Education of Iran|Education]]
|  name11a = [[Hossein Mozaffar]]
|  term11a = 1997–2001
|  name11b = Morteza Haaji
|  term11b = 2001–2005

| office12 = [[Ministry of Power of Iran|Power]]
|  name12a = [[Habibolah Bitaraf]]
|  term12a = 1997–2005

| office13 = [[Minister of Health and Medical Education of Iran|Health]]
|  name13a = [[Mohammad Farhadi]]
|  term13a = 1997–2001
|  name13b = [[Masoud Pezeshkian]]
|  term13b = 2001–2005

| office14 = [[Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Iran|HUD]]
|  name14a = [[Ali Abdolalizadeh]]
|  term14a = 1997–2005

| office15 = [[Minister of Industries and Mines of Iran|Industrial]]
|  name15a = [[Eshaq Jahangiri]]
|  term15a = 1997–2005

| office16 = [[Ministry of Intelligence of Iran|Intelligence]]
|  name16a = [[Ghorbanali Dorri Najafabadi]]
|  term16a = 1997–1998
|  name16b = [[Ali Younesi]]
|  term16b = 1998–2005

| office17 = [[Ministry of Interior of Iran|Interior]]
|  name17a = [[Abdollah Nouri]]
|  term17a = 1997–1998
|  name17b = [[Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari]]
|  term17b = 1998–2005

| office18 = [[Ministry of Justice of Iran|Justice]]
|  name18a = [[Mohammad Ismaeil Shooshtari]]
|  term18a = 1997–2005

| office19 = [[Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Iran|Labour]]
|  name19a = [[Hossein Kamali]]
|  term19a = 1997–2001
|  name19b = [[Safdar Hosseini]]
|  term19b = 2001–2004
|  name19c = [[Nasser Khaleghi]]
|  term19c = 2004–2005

| office20 = [[Ministry of Petroleum of Iran|Petroleum]]
|  name20a = [[Bijan Namdar Zangeneh]]
|  term20a = 1997–2005

| office21 = [[Ministry of Roads and Transportation of Iran|Roads]]
|  name21a = [[Mahmoud Hojatti]]
|  term21a = 1997–2000
|  name21b = [[Rahman Dadman]]
|  term21b = 2000
|  name21c = [[Ahmad Khorram]]
|  term21c = 2000–2004
|  name21d = Mohammad Rahmati
|  term21d = 2004–2005

| office22 = [[Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology of Iran|Science]]
|  name22a = [[Mostafa Moeen]]
|  term22a = 1997–2003
|  name22b = [[Jafar Towfighi]]
|  term22b = 2003–2005

| office23 = [[Ministry of Welfare and Social Security of Iran|Welfare]]
|  name23a = Mohammad Hossein Sharifzadegan
|  term23a = 2004–2005
}}

===Generality===
Press freedom, civil society, women’s rights, religious tolerance, dialogue and political development were concepts that constituted the core of Khatami’s ideology, who as a cleric faced immeasurable pressure on behalf of the orthodox seminarians over the changes he was advocating. He inducted his Westward charm offensive by engaging the [[European Union]], and became the first Iranian president to travel to [[Austria]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Italy]], [[Norway]] and [[Spain]]. From the [[University of St Andrews]] in Scotland to the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos and the [[UNESCO]] headquarters in Paris, he was frequently solicited to give talks at reputed venues to articulate the new Iranian vision and tell the world how he wanted to portray his people’s aspirations.

===Economic policy===
{{See also|Economy of Iran}}
Khatami's economic policies followed the previous government's commitment to industrialization. At a [[macroeconomy|macro-economic]] level, Khatami continued the liberal policies that Rafsanjani had embarked on in the state's first five-year economic development plan (1990–1995). On 10 April 2005, Khatami cited economic development, large-scale operations of the private sector in the country's economic arena and 6% economic growth as among the achievements of his government. He allocated $5&nbsp;billion to the private sector for promoting the economy, adding that the value of contracts signed in this regard has reached $10&nbsp;billion.

A year into his first term as president of Iran, Khatami acknowledged Iran's economic challenges, stating that the economy was, "chronically ill...and it will continue to be so unless there is fundamental restructuring".

For much of his first term, Khatami saw through the implementation of Iran's second five-year development plan. On 15 September 1999, Khatami presented a new five-year plan to the Majlis. Aimed at the period from 2000 to 2004, the plan called for [[economic reconstruction]] in a broader context of social and political development. The specific economic reforms included "an ambitious program to privatize several major industries ... the creation of 750,000 new jobs per year, average annual real GDP growth of six percent over the period, reduction in [[subsidy|subsidies]] for basic commodities...plus a wide range of fiscal and structural reforms". Unemployment remained a major problem, with Khatami's five-year plan lagging behind in job creation. Only 300,000 new jobs were created in the first year of the plan, well short of the 750,000 that the plan called for. The 2004 [[World Bank]] report on Iran concludes that "after 24 years marked by internal post-revolutionary strife, international isolation, and deep economic volatility, Iran is slowly emerging from a long period of uncertainty and instability".<ref>{{cite web|last=Siddiqi|first=Ahmad|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.04_siddiqi.html|title=SJIR: Khatami and the Search for Reform in Iran|publisher=Stanford|access-date=20 May 2013|archive-date=7 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307110702/http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.04_siddiqi.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the [[macroeconomic]] level, real GDP growth rose from 2.4% in 1997 to 5.9% in 2000. Unemployment was reduced from 16.2% of the labuor force to less than 14%. The consumer price index fell to less than 13% from more than 17%. Both public and private investments increased in the energy sector, the building industry, and other sectors of the country's industrial base. The country's external debt was cut from $12.1&nbsp;billion to $7.9&nbsp;billion, its lowest level since the Iran-[[Iraq]] cease-fire. The [[World Bank]] granted $232&nbsp;million for health and sewage projects after a hiatus of about seven years. The government, for the first time since the 1979 wholesale financial nationalization, authorized the establishment of two private banks and one private insurance company. The [[OECD]] lowered the risk factor for doing business in Iran to four from six (on a scale of seven).<ref>[Tahavolat, 98–138; Economic Trends, no. 23 (Tehran: Central Bank, 2000–2001); and Iran: Interim Assistance Strategy (Washington: The World Bank, April 2001).]</ref>

The government's own figures put the number of people under the absolute poverty line in 2001 at 15.5% of the total population – down from 18% in 1997, and those under relative poverty at 25%, thus classifying some 40% of the population as poor. Private estimates indicate higher figures.<ref name="autogenerated4">{{cite journal|title=Project MUSE|journal=SAIS Review|volume=22|issue=1|pages=1–21|doi=10.1353/sais.2002.0001|date=March 2002|last1=Amuzegar|first1=Jahangir|s2cid=153845590}}</ref>

Among 155 countries in a 2001 world survey, Iran under Khatami was 150th in terms of openness to the global economy. On the United Nations Human Development scale, Iran ranked 90th out of 162 countries, only slightly better than its previous position at 97 out of 175 countries four years earlier.<ref>UNDP, Human Development Report 2001 (New York: UNDP, 2001).</ref> The overall risk of doing business in Iran improved only marginally from "D" to "C".<ref name="autogenerated4" /><ref>Iran Economics (Tehran), July/August 2001.</ref> One of his economic strategies was on the basis of absorbing foreign and domestic capital resources for the privatization of the economy. Therefore, in 2001, the organization of privatization was established. Also the government encourages people to buy shares in private companies by providing incentives. Also [[Iran]] succeeded to convince the [[World Bank Group|World Bank]] to approve loans totaling 432&nbsp;billion dollars to the country.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anoushiravan Enteshami & Mahjoob Zweiri|title=Iran and the rise of Neoconsevatives, the politics of Tehran's silent Revolution|year=2007|page=15|publisher=I.B.Tauris}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan 23-24 April 2002-12.jpg|thumb|Khatami meeting Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in [[Sa'dabad Complex]], 24 April 2002]]
[[File:Abdullah II of Jordan visit Tehran - Mohammad Khatami - September 2, 2003.png|thumb|Khatami meeting King of Jordan
 [[Abdullah II of Jordan]] in [[Sa'dabad Complex]], 2 September 2003]]

During Khatami's presidency, Iran's foreign policy began a process of moving from confrontation to conciliation. In Khatami's notion of foreign policy, there was no "[[clash of civilizations]]", he favored instead a "[[Dialogue Among Civilizations]]". Relations with the US remained marred by mutual suspicion and distrust, but during Khatami's two terms, Tehran increasingly made efforts to play a greater role in the [[Persian Gulf]] region and beyond.

As President, Khatami met with many influential figures including [[Pope John Paul II]], [[Koichiro Matsuura]], [[Jacques Chirac]], [[Johannes Rau]], [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Abdelaziz Bouteflika|Abdolaziz Bouteflika]], [[Mahathir Mohamad]] and [[Hugo Chávez]]. In 2003, Khatami refused to meet militant Iraqi cleric [[Muqtada al-Sadr]].<ref>[http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3020596.html Order Out of Chaos<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083553/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3020596.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, [[Hoover Institution]]</ref> However, Khatami attended [[Hafez al-Assad]]'s funeral in 2000 and told new Syrian president [[Bashar al-Assad]] that "the Iranian government and people would stand by and support him".<ref name=abb08win>{{cite journal|last=Samii|first=Abbas William|title=A Stable Structure on Shifting Sands: Assessing the Hizbullah-Iran-Syria Relationship|journal=Middle East Journal|date=Winter 2008|volume=62|issue=1|pages=32–53|doi=10.3751/62.1.12|url=http://sino-west.org/sjtu/Stable.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904231246/http://sino-west.org/sjtu/Stable.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=4 September 2012|access-date=15 March 2013}}</ref>

On 8 August 1998, the [[Taliban]] massacred 4,000 Shias in the town of [[Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–98)#Recapture and massacre (August 1998)|Mazar-i-Sharif]], [[Afghanistan]]. It also attacked and killed 11 Iranian diplomats with an Iranian journalist among them. The rest of the diplomats were taken hostage. [[Ali Khamenei|Ayatollah Khamenei]] ordered the amassing of troops near the Iran Afghanistan border to enter Afghanistan and fight the Taliban. Over 70,000 Iranian troops were placed along the borders of Afghanistan. Khatami halted the invasion and looked to the UN for help. Soon he was placed in talks. Later Iran entered negotiations with the Taliban, the diplomats were released. Khatami and his advisers had managed to keep Iran from entering war with the Taliban.

After the [[2003 Bam earthquake|2003 earthquake]] in [[Bam, Iran|Bam]], the Iranian government rebuffed [[Israel|Israel's]] offer of assistance. On 8 April 2005, Khatami sat near Iranian-born Israeli President [[Moshe Katsav]] during the [[Funeral of Pope John Paul II|funeral]] of [[Pope John Paul&nbsp;II]] because of alphabetical order. Later, Katsav shook hands and spoke with Khatami. Katsav himself is in origin an [[Iranian Jews|Iranian Jew]], and from a part of Iran close to Khatami's home; he stated that they had spoken about their home province. That would make this incident the first official political contact between Iran and Israel since diplomatic ties were severed in 1979.

However, after he returned to Iran, Khatami was subject to harsh criticism from conservatives for having "recognised" Israel by speaking to its president. Subsequently, the country's state-run media reported that Khatami strongly denied shaking hands and chatting with Katsav.<ref name=nbcnbc>{{cite news|title=Iranian President Denies Israeli Handshake|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7443548|publisher=MSNBC|date=9 April 2005}}</ref> In 2003, Iran approached the United States with proposals to negotiate all outstanding issues including the nuclear issue and a two-state settlement for Israel and the [[Palestinians]].<ref name=roadmap>{{cite news|title=U.S.–Iran Roadmap|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/documents/us_iran_1roadmap.pdf|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

In 2006, and as an ex-president, he became the highest-ranking Iranian politician to visit the [[United States]], excluding annual diplomatic trips of chief executives to the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|UN headquarters]] in [[New York City|New York]]. He gave a speech at the Washington National Cathedral and continued his US tour by addressing [[Harvard University]], [[Georgetown University]] and the [[University of Virginia]].

====Currency crisis====
[[File:Mohammad Khatami- Opening World Wrestling Championships - May 4, 2002.jpg|180px|thumb|Khatami opening the [[World Wrestling Championships]], 2002]]

From 1995 to 2005, Khatami's administration successfully reduced the rate of fall in the value of the [[Iranian rial]] bettering even the record of [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi|Mousavi]]. Nevertheless, the currency continued to fall from 2,046 to 9,005 to the U.S. dollar during his term as president.

=== Cultural ===
Khatami's moderate policies also differed sharply from those of his radical opponents, who sought stricter Islamic rule. Thus, the moderate Khatami all-inclusive and pluralistic message posed a stark contrast to the reactionary stances of the earlier decades of the revolution. He represented hope for the masses who desired change that differed in nature from what they had experienced in 1979, and yet a change that preserved Iran’s Islamic republican system. 

In the first years of his presidency, relative freedom of the press was formed in the country, and for the first time after the summer of 1360, some opposition forces were able to print publications or publish articles criticizing the performance of high-ranking officials. During this period, the [[Association of Iranian Journalists]], the national union of journalists in Iran was established in October 1376, after Mohammad Khatami took office. 

[[National Library and Archive of Iran]] was completed with Khatami's follow-up and banned books were allowed to be printed, as [[Kelidar]]. 

[[Bahram Beyzai]] and [[Abbas Kiarostami]] did many activities during this period and the country's cinema space became more open. With a glance at this period, it can be seen that most filmmakers turned their attention to making films with social themes. 

Iran Music House and Music Festival of Iran's regions institutes was founded in this period. [[Iran's National Orchestra]] was founded in 1998 under the conduction of [[Farhad Fakhreddini]].

===Khatami and Iran's 2004 parliamentary election===
[[File:Moeen-Khatami.jpg|thumb|left|Khatami supported his science minister, [[Mostafa Moeen]] in the [[2005 Iranian presidential election|2005 presidential election]]]]

In February 2004, [[2004 Iran Majlis election|Parliament elections]], the [[Guardian Council]] banned thousands of candidates, including most of the reformist members of the parliament and all the candidates of the [[Islamic Iran Participation Front]] party from running.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/12/iran.walkout/|title= Iran reformists' protest continues|publisher=CNN|date=12 January 2006|access-date=1 January 2007}}</ref> This led to a win by the conservatives of at least 70% of the seats. Approximately 60% of the eligible voting population participated in the elections.

Khatami recalled his strong opposition against holding an election his government saw as unfair and not free. He also narrated the story of his visit to the Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]], together with the Parliament's spokesman (considered the head of the legislature) and a list of conditions they had handed him before they could hold the elections. The list, he said, was then passed on to the Guardian Council, the legal supervisor and major obstacle to holding free and competitive elections in recent years. The members of the Guardian Council are appointed directly by the Supreme Leader and are considered to be applying his will. "But", Khatami said, "the Guardian Council kept neither the Supreme Leader's nor its own word [...] and we were faced with a situation in which we had to choose between holding the election or risking huge unrest [...] and so damaging the regime". At this point, student protesters repeatedly chanted the slogan "Jannati is the nation's enemy", referring to the chairman of the Guardian Council. Khatami replied, "If you are the representative of the nation, then we are the nation's enemy". However, after clarification by students stating that "Jannati, not Khatami", he took advantage of the opportunity to claim a high degree of freedom in Iran.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freethoughts.org/archives/000665.php|title=FToI: What did Khatami really say?|publisher=Free thoughts|date=8 December 2004|access-date=20 May 2013|archive-date=25 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925012845/http://freethoughts.org/archives/000665.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When the Guardian Council announced the final list of candidates on 30 January 125 reformist members of parliament declared that they would [[election boycott|boycott the election]] and resign their seats, and the Reformist interior minister declared that the election would not be held on the scheduled date, 20 February. However, Khatami then announced that the election would be held on time, and he rejected the resignations of his cabinet ministers and provincial governors. These actions paved the way for the election to be held and signaled a split between the radical and moderate wings of the reformist movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jun/gasiorowskiJun04.asp|title=Strategic Insights – Iranian Politics After the 2004 Parliamentary Election|publisher=CCC|date=June 2004|access-date=20 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618085955/http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jun/gasiorowskiJun04.asp|archive-date=18 June 2009}}</ref>

==Cultural and political image==
===Dialogue Among Civilizations===
[[File:Khatami, Eid-e Ghadir.jpg|thumb|Khatami speaking at reformists' conference in [[Shiraz]], 6 December 2009]]

Following earlier works by the philosopher [[Dariush Shayegan]], in early 1997, during his presidential campaign, Khatami introduced the theory of [[Dialogue Among Civilizations]] as a response to [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel P. Huntington's]] [[Clash of Civilizations]] theory. He introduced this concept in the United Nations in 1998.<ref name=":0" />

Consequently, on 4 November 1998 the UN adopted a resolution proclaiming the year 2001 as the United Nations' ''Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations'', as per Khatami's suggestion.<ref name="unesco.org"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name=":1" /> Pleading for the moralization of politics, Khatami argued that "the political translation of dialogue among civilizations would consist in arguing that culture, morality, and art must prevail on politics." President Khatami's call for a dialogue among civilizations elicited a published reply from an American author, Anthony J. Dennis, who served as the originator, contributor, and editor of an historic and unprecedented collection of letters addressing all facets of Islamic-Western and U.S.–Iranian relations entitled ''Letters to Khatami: A Reply To The Iranian President's Call For A Dialogue Among Civilizations'' which was published in the U.S. by Wyndham Hall Press in July 2001.<ref>Anthony J. Dennis, '''LETTERS TO KHATAMI: A Reply To The Iranian President's Call For A Dialogue Among Civilizations''' (Wyndham Hall Press, 2001, {{ISBN|1556053339}}).</ref> To date, this book is the only published reply Khatami has ever received from the West.

===Culture===
Khatami believes that the modern world in which we live is such that Iranian youth are confronted with new ideas and is receptive of foreign habits. He also believes that the limitation on youth leads to separation of them from the regime and calls them into Satanic cultures. He predicted that even worse, the youth will learn and accept the [[MTV]] culture. This fact leads to secularization.<ref>{{cite book |author=Anoushiravan Enteshami & Mahjoob Zweiri |title=Iran and the Rise of Its Neoconservatives: The Politics of Tehran's Silent Revolution |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2007 |page=17}}</ref>

===Cinema===
In terms of Islamic values, Mohammad Khatami encouraged film makers to include themes such as self-sacrifice, martyrdom, and revolutionary patience. When Khatami was the minister of culture, he believed that cinema was not  limited to the mosque and it is necessary to pay attention to entertaining aspects of cinema and not limiting it to religious aspect.<ref>{{cite book |author=Naficy |first=Hamid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwKKAgAAQBAJ&q=political+cultural+in+the++Islamic+republic&pg=PA3 |title=Islamizing Film Culture in Iran: Political Culture in the Islamic Republic |publisher=Routledge |year=1992 |isbn=9781134969470 |pages=200–205}}</ref>

===Khatami as a scholar===
[[File:Mousavi - khatami 1985.jpg|thumb|Khatami as culture minister in 1985, with prime minister [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]]]]

Khatami's main research field is [[political philosophy]]. One of Khatami's academic mentors was [[Javad Tabatabaei]], an Iranian political philosopher. Later on Khatami became a university lecturer at [[Tarbiat Modares University]], where he taught political philosophy. Khatami also published a book on political philosophy in 1999. The ground he covers is the same as that covered by [[Javad Tabatabai]]: Platonising adaptation of [[ancient Greece|Greek]] political philosophy by [[Farabi]] (died 950), synthesis of the eternal wisdom of Persian statecraft by [[Abu'l-Hasan Amiri]] (died 991) and [[Mushkuya Razi]] (died 1030), the juristic thoughts of [[al-Mawardi]] and [[al-Ghazali]], and [[Nizam al-Mulk]]'s treatise on statecraft. He ends with a discussion of the revival of political philosophy in [[Safavid Iran|Safavid]] [[Isfahan]] in the second half of the 17th century.

Further, Khatami shares with Javad Tabatabai the idea of the decline of Muslim political thought beginning at the very outset, after Farabi.

Like Tabatabaei, Khatami brings in the sharply contrasting [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] view of politics to highlight the shortcomings of Muslim political thought. Khatami has also lectured on the decline in Muslim political thought in terms of the transition from political philosophy to royal policy (siyâsat-e shâhi) and its imputation to the prevalence of "forceful domination" (''[[taghallub]]'') in Islamic history.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Reform Movement and the Debate on Modernity and Tradition in Contemporary Iran |url=http://www.kadivar.com/Htm/English/Reviews/Paper-02.htm#_ftn32 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030808004551/http://kadivar.com/Htm/English/Reviews/Paper-02.htm |archive-date=8 August 2003}}</ref>

In his "Letter for Tomorrow", he wrote:
{{cquote|This government is proud to announce that it heralded the era where the sanctity of power has been turned into the legitimacy of critique and criticism of that power, which is in the trust of the people who have been delegated with power to function as representatives through franchise. So such power, once considered Divine Grace, has now been reduced to an earthly power that can be criticized and evaluated by earthly beings. Instances show that although due to some traces of despotic mode of background we have not even been a fair critique of those in power, however, it is deemed upon the society, and the elite and the intellectuals in particular, not to remain indifferent at the dawn of democracy and allow freedom to be hijacked.}}

==Post-presidential career==
[[File:World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2007.jpg|thumb|170px|Khatami at the [[World Economic Forum]] in 2007]]

After his presidency, Khatami founded two NGOs which he currently heads:
* '''International Institute for Dialogue among Cultures & Civilizations''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dialogue.ir/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717192252/http://www.dialogue.ir/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2007|title=International Institute for Dialogue Among Cultures and Civilizations|publisher=Dialogue|date=1 September 2008|access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref> ({{langx|fa|موسسه بین المللی گفتگوی فرهنگها و تمدنها}}). This institute is a private (non-governmental) institute that was founded by Khatami after the end of his presidency and it is not to be confused with a center with a similar name operated by the foreign ministry of Iran. The European branch of Khatami's institute is headquartered in Geneva and has been registered as '''Foundation for Dialogue among Civilizations'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dialoguefoundation.org|title=Welcome To FDC Website|language=fa|publisher=Dialogue Foundation|access-date=7 September 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630080218/http://www.dialoguefoundation.org/|archive-date=30 June 2012}}</ref>
* '''[[BARAN Foundation|Baran Foundation]]'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baran.org.ir/|title=Baran|publisher=Baran|access-date=1 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606014709/http://baran.org.ir/|archive-date=6 June 2008}}</ref> BARAN (meaning "rain" in [[Persian language|Persian]]) is an acronym in Persian for "''Foundation for Freedom, Growth and Development of Iran''" ({{langx|fa|بنیاد آزادی، رشد و آبادانی ایران – باران}}). This is also a private (non-governmental) institute founded by Khatami after the end of his presidency (registration announced on 9 September 2005) and a group of his former colleagues during his presidency. This institute is focused on domestic rather than international activities.

Notable events in Khatami's career after his presidency include:

* On 2 September 2005, the then United Nations [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] [[Kofi Annan]] appointed Mohammad Khatami as a member of the [[Alliance of Civilizations]].
* On 28 September 2005, Khatami retired after 29 years of service in the government.<ref>{{cite web|title=Khatami Retires|url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2388/html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050929172821/http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2388/html/|archive-date=29 September 2005}}</ref>
* On 14 November 2005, Mohammad Khatami urged all religious leaders to fight for the abolishment of [[atomic weapon|atomic]] and [[chemical weapon]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-islam-conference,0,6909423.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines |access-date=15 November 2005 |title=Newsday &#124; Long Island's & NYC's News Source &#124; Newsday }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>[http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0511159935183141.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201602/http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0511159935183141.htm|date=30 September 2007}}</ref>
* On 30 January 2006, Mohammad Khatami officially inaugurated the office of the "International Institute of Dialogue Among Civilizations", an NGO with offices in Iran and Europe that he will be heading, after his retirement from the government.<ref>{{cite web|title=Non-Productive Sectors Unhelpful|url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2488/html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710075729/http://iran-daily.com/1384/2488/html/|archive-date=10 July 2007}}</ref>
* On 15 February 2006, during a press interview Mohammad Khatami announced the formal registration of the European office of his Institute for Dialogue among Civilizations in [[Geneva]].
* On 28 February 2006, while attending a conference of the [[Alliance of Civilizations]] at [[Doha]], [[Qatar]], he stated that "The Holocaust is a historical fact." However, he added that Israel has "made a bad use of this historic fact with the persecution of the Palestinian people."<ref>[http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.270028823&par=] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060921025330/http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.270028823&par=|date=21 September 2006}}</ref>
* On 7 September 2006, during a visit to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], Mohammad Khatami called for dialogue between the United States and Iran.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5326424.stm|title=Iran's Khatami calls for US talks|work=BBC News|date=8 September 2006|access-date=8 September 2006}}</ref>
*On 24–28 January 2007, Mohammad Khatami attended the Annual Meeting of the [[World Economic Forum]] in [[Davos]], [[Switzerland]]. [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]], then [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]], [[List of former presidents of the United States who ran for office|former U.S. President]] [[Bill Clinton]], then [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Hillary Clinton]], former [[List of vice presidents of the United States|U.S. Vice President]] [[Al Gore]], then [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Dick Cheney]], and former [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretaries of State]] [[Madeleine Albright]] and [[Colin Powell]] were among those attending.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=42218 |title=Khatami to attend World Economic Forum in Davos |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615110036/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=42218 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref> Khatami and then U.S. Senator [[John Kerry]] have expressed similar opinions and shared words with each other in the World Economic Forum in Davos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiojavan.com/news/index.php?id=768&comments=yes |title=Khatami & Kerry: A Common Denominator |publisher=Radiojavan.com |access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.isna.ir/main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-867967&Lang=P|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201013007/http://www.isna.ir/main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-867967&Lang=P|url-status=dead|title=Kerry confirmed Khatami's remarks in his address (ISNA)|archivedate=1 December 2008}}</ref>
*In October 2009, the award committee of the Global Dialogue Prize<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.globaldialogueprize.org/page.php?idMenu=5&idSub=1&idMain=64| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051700/http://www.globaldialogueprize.org/page.php?idMenu=5&idSub=1&idMain=64| archive-date = 25 April 2012| title = Global Dialogue Prize}}</ref> declared Khatami and Iranian cultural theorist [[Dariush Shayegan]] as joint winners of the inaugural award, "for their work in developing and promoting the concept of a 'dialogue among cultures and civilizations' as new paradigm of cultural subjectivity and as new paradigm of international relations". The Global Dialogue Prize is one of the world's most significant recognitions for research in the Humanities, honouring "excellence in research and research communication on the conditions and content of a global intercultural dialogue on values".<ref>{{cite web|title=Iran's Khatami awarded 2009 "Global Dialogue Prize"|url=http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=2&id=15004|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025191608/http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=2&id=15004|archive-date=25 October 2009|access-date=25 October 2009}}</ref> In January 2010, Mohammad Khatami stated that "he was not in the position to accept the award", and the prize was given to Dariush Shayegan alone.<ref>The (copyrighted) webpages of the Global Dialogue Prize offer a brief scholarly presentation of Khatami's contributions to the concept of dialogue as paradigm of international relations, as well as a bibliography.</ref>

===The Man with the Chocolate Robe===
On 22 December 2005, a few months after the end of Khatami's presidency, the monthly magazine ''[[Chelcheragh]]'', along with a group of young Iranian artists and activists, organized a ceremony in Khatami's honour. The ceremony was held on [[Yalda Night|Yalda night]] at Tehran's [[Bahman Cultural Center]] Hall. The ceremony, titled "[[The Man with the Chocolate Robe|A Night with The Man with the Chocolate Robe]]" by the organizers, was widely attended by teenagers and younger adults. One of the presenters and organizers of the ceremony was [[Pegah Ahangarani]], a popular young Iranian actress. The event did not get a lot of advance publicity, but it drew a huge amount of attention afterwards. In addition to formal reports on the event by the [[BBC]], [[IRNA]], and other major news agencies, [[Google (verb)|googling]] the term "مردی با عبای شکلاتی" ("The Man with the Chocolate Robe" in [[Persian language|Persian]]) shows thousands of results of mainly young Iranians' blogs mentioning the event. It was arguably the first time in the history of Iran that an event in such fashion was held in honor of a head of government. Some weblog reports of the evening described the general atmosphere of the event as similar to a concert, and some reported that Khatami was treated like a pop star among the youth and teenagers in attendance during the ceremony. Many bloggers also accused him of falling short of his promises of a safer, more democratic Iran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webneveshteha.com/weblog/?id=2146307388 |title=Mohammad Ali Abtahi's weblog report of the evening |publisher=webneveshteha.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2005/12/051223_fb_khatami-site.shtml |title= BBC News: The Man with the Chocolate Robe |publisher=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

===2008 International Conference on Religion in Modern World===
In October 2008, Khatami organized an international conference on the position of religion in the modern world. Former UN secretary-general [[Kofi Annan]], former [[Prime Minister of Norway|Norwegian Prime Minister]] [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]], former [[Italian Prime Minister]] [[Romano Prodi]], former [[French Prime Minister]] [[Lionel Jospin]], former [[President of the Swiss Confederation|Swiss President]] [[Joseph Deiss]], former [[President of Portugal|Portuguese President]] [[Jorge Sampaio]], former [[President of Ireland|Irish President]] [[Mary Robinson]], former [[President of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan President]] [[Chandrika Kumaratunga]] and former [[UNESCO]] director general [[Federico Mayor]] as well as several other scholars were among the invited speakers of the conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=364343 |title=World Dignitaries Open International Conference On Religion|agency=Bernama |date=14 October 2008|access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref>

The event was followed by a celebration of the historical city of [[Yazd]], one of the most famous cities in Persian history and Khatami's birthplace. Khatami also announced that he is about to launch a television program to promote intercultural dialogue.

===2009 presidential election===
{{Main|Mohammad Khatami 2009 presidential campaign}}

Khatami contemplated running in the [[2009 Iranian presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Thomas|last=Erdbrink |title=Iran's Khatami Mulls Run for Presidency|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502724.html?hpid=sec-world|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=A15|date=16 December 2008 |access-date=17 December 2008}}</ref> In December 2008, 194 alumni of [[Sharif University of Tech]] wrote a letter to him and asked him to run against Ahmadinejad to save the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2008/12/post_10568.php |title=بیايید و با مردم سخن بگويید (Rooz) |access-date=15 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218015748/http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2008/12/post_10568.php |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref> On 8 February 2009, he announced his candidacy at a meeting of pro-reform politicians.<ref>{{cite news|first=Parisa|last=Hafezi|title=Iran's Khatami to run in June presidential election|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE51716Z20090208|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721021409/http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE51716Z20090208|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2012|work=Reuters|date=8 February 2009|access-date=8 February 2009}}</ref>

On 16 March 2009, Khatami officially announced he would drop out of the presidential race to endorse another reformist candidate [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]] who Khatami claimed would stand a better chance against Iran's conservative establishment to offer true change and reform.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former president khatami won't run for the next presidential election race|url=http://www.khatami.ir/fa/news/875.html|publisher=Former President Khatami's website|date=16 March 2009|access-date=16 March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318063408/http://www.khatami.ir/fa/news/875.html|archive-date=18 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Iran's Khatami won't run for president, state news agency says|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/16/iran.khatami/index.html#cnnSTCText|publisher=CNN|date=16 March 2009 |access-date=16 March 2009}}</ref>

===Green movement===
In December 2010, following the crushing of [[2009–2010 Iranian election protests|post-election protest]], Khatami was described as working as a political insider, drawing up a list of preconditions to present to the government for the reformists' participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections, that would be seen as reasonable by the Iranian public but intolerable by the government. This was seen by some ([[Ata'ollah Mohajerani]]) as astute and proving the system could not take even basic steps required for living up to its own democratic conservatives ([[Azadeh Moaveni]]). In response to the conditions, ''[[Kayhan]]'' newspaper condemned Khatami as a spy and traitor, and called for his execution.<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/16/the_smiling_cleric_s_revolution The Smiling Cleric's Revolution], BY Moaveni, Azadeh|16 February 2011</ref>

===2013 presidential election===
[[File:عباس میرزا ابوطالبی در دیدار با سید محمد خاتمی.jpg|thumb|Khatami in 2013]]

A few months before the presidential election which was held in June 2013, several reformist groups in Iran invited Khatami to attend in competition. The reformists also sent a letter to the [[Ali Khamenei|Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]] in December 2012, regarding the participation of Khatami in the upcoming presidential election. Member of the traditional-conservative [[Islamic Coalition Party]], [[Asadollah Badamchian]] said that in their letter, the reformists asked the Supreme Leader to supervise the allowance of Khatami to participate in the upcoming election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ilna.ir/en/news/news.cfm?id=245|title=Reformists send a letter to Supreme Leader regarding ex-president's participation in elections|work=Ilna|access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> Former [[mayor of Tehran]], [[Gholamhossein Karbaschi]] announced: "[[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|Rafsanjani]] may support Khatami in the presidential election".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oananews.org/content/photo/politics/%E2%80%98rafsanjani-may-support-khatami-presidential-election%E2%80%99|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017043459/http://www.oananews.org/content/photo/politics/%E2%80%98rafsanjani-may-support-khatami-presidential-election%E2%80%99|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 October 2015|title=Rafsanjani may support Khatami in presidential election|work=Oana news|date=24 April 2012|access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref>

Khatami himself said that he still waits for the positive changes in the country, and will reveal his decision when the time is suitable. On 11 June 2013, Khatami together with a council of reformists backed moderate [[Hassan Rouhani]], in Iran's presidential vote as [[Mohammad Reza Aref]] quit the race when Khatami advised him that it would not be wise for him to stay in the race for the June 2013 elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-election-idUKBRE95A0H520130611 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105005012/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-election-idUKBRE95A0H520130611 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2016 | work=Reuters | title=Khatami, reformists back Rohani in Iran presidential vote | date=11 June 2013}}</ref>

==Controversy and criticism==
{{Main|Controversies surrounding President Mohammad Khatami}}

Khatami's two terms as president were regarded by some people in the [[Iranian opposition]] as unsuccessful or not fully successful in achieving their goals of making Iran more free and more democratic,<ref name="autogenerated3"/> and he has been criticized by conservatives, reformers, and opposition groups for various policies and viewpoints.

In a 47-page "[[A Letter for Tomorrow]]", Khatami said his government had stood for noble principles but had made mistakes and faced obstruction by hardline elements in the clerical establishment.<ref name="autogenerated3">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/04/iran Khatami blames clerics for failure]", ''The Guardian'', 4 May 2004.</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{main|Electoral history of Mohammad Khatami}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year !! Election  !!Votes !! % !! Rank !! Notes
|-
|1980|| rowspan="2" |[[1980 Iranian legislative election|Parliament]]||32,942 ||82.1||'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|1992!colspan="3" {{n/a}}
| style="background-color:#C0C0C0"|''Disqualified''<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Post-Khomeini Era in Iran: The Elections of the Fourth Islamic Majlis|jstor= 4328663|journal=Middle East Journal|volume=48|number=1|year=1994|pages=107|publisher=Middle East Institute|author=Farzin Sarabi {{subscription required}}|quote=The first victim of the cabinet changes, however, was Hoijatolislam Mohammad Khatami-Ardekani, culture and Islamic guidance minister. Khatami, who is a member of Ruhaniyoun and was disqualified to run for the Majlis by the Council of Guardians, was not on Rafsanjani's list of those for possible dismissal}}</ref>
|-
|1997|| rowspan="2" |[[1997 Iranian presidential election|President]]||20,078,187||69.6|| rowspan="2" |'''1st'''
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|-
|2001||{{increase}} 21,659,053||{{increase}} 77.1
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|Won
|}

==Primary sources==
[[File:Khatami-3by Mardetanha.jpg|thumb|130px|Khatami holding the [[Quran]] in his hands]]

===Publications===
<!--Please add ISBNs.-->

Khatami has written a number of books in [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic]], and [[English language|English]]:

'''Books in Persian'''
* ''Fear of the Wave'' (بیم موج)
* ''From the World of a city to the city of the World'' (از دنیای شهر تا شهر دنیا)
* ''Faith and Thought Trapped by Despotism'' (آیین و اندیشه در دام خودکامگی)
* ''Democracy'' (مردم سالاری)
* ''Dialogue Among Civilizations'' (گفتگوی تمدن‌ها)
* ''[[A Letter for Tomorrow]]'' (نامه ای برای فردا)
* ''Islam, The Clergy, and The Islamic Revolution'' (اسلام، روحانیت و انقلاب اسلامی)
* ''Political Development, Economic Development, and Security'' (توسعه سیاسی، توسعه اقتصادی و امنیت)
* ''Women and the Youth'' (زنان و جوانان)
* ''Political Parties and the Councils'' (احزاب و شوراها)
* ''Reviving Inherent Religious Truths'' (احیاگر حقیقت دین)

'''Books in English'''
* ''Islam, Liberty and Development''<ref>{{Cite book|isbn=188305883X |title=Islam, Liberty and Development: Mohammad Khatami, Muhammad Khatami: Books |last1=Khātamī |first1=Muḥammad |year=1998 |publisher=Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University }}</ref> {{ISBN|978-1-883058-83-8}}

'''Books in Arabic'''
* ''A Study of Religion, Islam and Time'' [title roughly translated from Arabic] (مطالعات في الدين والإسلام والعصر)
* ''City of Politics'' [title roughly translated from Arabic] (مدينة السياسة)

A full list of his publications is available at his official personal web site (see below).

==Awards and honors==
[[File:Mohammad Khatami received Nishan-e-Pakistan by Pervez Musharraf- December 22, 2002.png|thumb|right|Khatami receiving the [[Nishan-e-Pakistan]] by [[Pervez Musharraf]], 2002]]

* Gold medal from [[National and Kapodistrian University of Athens]]
* The special medal of [[Spain|Spain's]] Congress of Deputies and Senate, Key to [[Madrid]]
* Honorary [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]], [[Moscow State Institute of International Relations]]
* Honorary PhD degree, [[Moscow State University]]
* Honorary PhD degree, [[Tokyo Institute of Technology]]
* Honorary doctorate degree by the [[Delhi University]]
* Honorary doctorate from [[Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences]]
* Degree of honour in political sciences, [[Lebanese University]]
* [[Pakistan|Pakistan's]] highest civilian honour [[Nishan-e-Pakistan]]
* Plaque of honor and medal of distinction by the ''International Federation for Parent Education''
* Honorary doctorate from [[Al Neelain University|Al-Neelain University]]
* Honorary doctorate of law from [[University of St Andrews]]
* [[Venezuela|Venezuela's]] [[Order of the Liberator]]

==See also==
*[[2nd of Khordad Movement]]
*[[1997 Iranian presidential election]]
*[[2001 Iranian presidential election]]
*[[2009 Iranian presidential election]]
*[[2013 Iranian presidential election]]
*[[Liberal movements within Islam]]
*[[Modern Islamic philosophy]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Mohammad Khatami|q=yes|d=yes|n=yes|s=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080606014709/http://baran.org.ir/ Official website of Khatami's BARAN NGO Institute in Iran]
* {{C-SPAN|52963}}
* [http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.04_siddiqi.html Khatami and the Search for Reform in Iran (Review article; Stanford University)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307110702/http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.04_siddiqi.html |date=7 March 2007 }}
* [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9218417 Biography in Encyclopædia Britannica]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2005/08/050801_pm-mv-khatami-profile.shtml Khatami; from the presidency of Islamic Center in Hamburg to the presidency of Islamic Republic of Iran]
* [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9801/07/iran/interview.html CNN: Transcript of Interview with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4703260.stm Iran's ex-leader sees new Islam]
* Address of Mohammad Khatami at Annual Meeting of ''World Economic Forum'', Davos, 21 January 2004, Chaired by [[Klaus Schwab]], 26 min 37 sec, {{YouTube|z3V5gtpQK2Q}}

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