Hassan Rouhani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Hassan Fereydoun 12 November 1948 Semnan Province, Imperial State of Iran |
| Political party | Moderation and Development Party (1999–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Combatant Clergy Association (1988–present; inactive since 2009)[1] Islamic Republican Party (1979–87) |
| Spouse |
Deputy to Second-in-Command of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff (1988–89)[3] |
| Battles/wars | Iran–Iraq War |
| Awards |  Order of Nasr (1st Class)[4] Order of Fath (2nd Class)[5][6] |
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Elections
First term
Second term
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Hassan Rouhani (
On 7 May 2013, Rouhani registered for the
Rouhani is frequently described as a centrist and reformist. In domestic policy, he encourages personal freedom, free access to information, and has improved women's rights by appointing female foreign ministry spokespeople. He has also improved Iran's diplomatic relations with other countries through exchanging conciliatory letters.[23][24][25] Rouhani won re-election in the 2017 election with 23,636,652 votes (57.1%).[26] He became the third Iranian President, after Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to win a presidential victory as an incumbent with an increased electoral mandate.
Although Rouhani originally had the support of Iranian Supreme Leader
Early life and education
Hassan Rouhani (born Hassan Fereydoun) was born on 12 November 1948
Rouhani started religious studies in 1960. First at Semnan Seminary[9]: 55 before moving on to the Qom Seminary in 1961.[9]: 76 He attended classes taught by prominent scholars of that time including Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, Morteza Haeri Yazdi, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani, Soltani, Mohammad Fazel Lankarani, and Mohammad Shahabadi.[9]: 81 In addition, he studied modern courses, and was admitted to the University of Tehran in 1969, and obtained a BA degree in Judicial Law in 1972.[3][9]: 309–312 In 1973, Rouhani entered military service in the city of Nishapur.[33]
Rouhani
The website of the Center for Strategic Research, a think-tank headed by Rouhani, misattributed his doctorate to Glasgow University rather than Glasgow Caledonian University and confusion ensued as a result on whether he was a graduate of either university, especially as he was known during his student years by his birth name "Hassan Fereydoun".[37] Glasgow Caledonian University carried out an internal investigation to confirm Rouhani's alumnus status and after confirming it, it published Rouhani's theses abstracts and a video showing him being capped, as Scottish academic tradition provides, during the university's 1999 graduation ceremony.[38][39]
Allegations of PhD thesis plagiarism
Allegations regarding Rouhani's plagiarism were first raised in 2013 when it was claimed that he had probably "lifted" sentences from a book by Afghan author Mohammad Hashim Kamali. Glasgow Caledonian University, Rouhani's graduation school, argued that the sentences were both cited properly. The issue was raised again amid 2017 Iranian presidential election when a student campaign claimed that they had for the first time investigated Rouhani's whole thesis using plagiarism detection tool iThenticate and that chapters one through four of Rouhani's thesis had been plagiarized at least 39%, 43%, 40% and 82%, respectively. Ayatollah Ali Akbar Kalantari, a member of the Assembly of Experts, Shiraz University faculty member and one of the alleged victims, said that "major segments" of Chapter 4 of Rouhani's thesis had been translated from his book without being referenced.[40]
Personal life
Rouhani married his cousin,
Rouhani has three sisters and a brother.
Name
He was born Hassan Fereydoun (or Fereydun, in reference to a just king in Persian mythology, Persian: حسن فریدون, Persian pronunciation: [hæˌsæn-e feɾejˈdun]) and later changed his last name to Rouhani, which means 'spiritual' or 'cleric';[57] also transliterated as Rowhani, Ruhani, or Rohani). It is not clear when he officially changed his last name. He was named as "Hassan Fereydoun Rouhani" (Persian: حسن فریدون روحانی) in a list of Majlis representatives on 5 July 1981,[58] while photos of his identification card (in Persian transliteration: shenasnameh) taken around his presidential campaign in 2013 only say "Rouhani" is his last name.[8]
Political activities before the Iranian Revolution
As a young cleric, Hassan Rouhani started his political activities by following the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the beginning of the Iranian Islamist movement. In 1965, he began traveling throughout Iran making speeches against the government of the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah (king) of Iran. During those years he was arrested many times and was banned from delivering public speeches.[9]: 232
In November 1977, during a public ceremony held at Tehran's Ark Mosque to commemorate the death of Mostafa Khomeini (the elder son of the Ayatollah Khomeini), Rouhani used the title "Imam" for the Ayatollah Khomeini, the then exiled leader of the Islamist movement, for the first time.
Since he was under surveillance by
Outside Iran he made public speeches to Iranian students studying abroad and joined Khomeini upon arriving in France.[9]: 410
Political career during the 1980s and 1990s
Early years of the Islamic Republic
Following the 1979
Among responsibilities shouldered by him in the post-revolution era was leadership of the supervisory council of the
Iran–Iraq War
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During the Iran–Iraq War, Rouhani was a member of the Supreme Defense Council (1982–1988), member of the High Council for Supporting War and headed its executive committee (1986–1988), deputy commander of the war (1983–1985), commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Operation Center (1985–1988), and commander of the Iran Air Defense Force (1986–1991).[3] He was appointed as Deputy to Second-in-Command of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff (1988–1989).[3]
When
At the end of the war, Hassan Rouhani was awarded the second-grade Fath (Victory) Medal along with a group of commanders of the Iranian Army and the
After the war
Rouhani was offered and turned down the post of Minister of Intelligence of Iran in 1989.[67]
After the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was amended and the
After the
In the midterm elections for the third term of the
In addition to executive posts, Rouhani kept up his academic activities. From 1995 to 1999, he was a member of the board of trustees of Tehran Universities and North Region. Rouhani has been running the Center for Strategic Research since 1991. He is the managing editor of three academic and research quarterlies in Persian and English, which include Rahbord (Strategy), Foreign Relations, and the Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs.
Nuclear dossier
Rouhani was secretary of the
As tensions increased and in view of the existing differences between Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
, Geneva and Paris.
Rouhani and his team, whose members had been introduced by Ali Akbar Velayati and Kharazi as the best diplomats in the Iranian Foreign Ministry,[15]: 109, 141 based their efforts on dialogue and confidence building due to political and security conditions. As a first step, they prevented further escalation of accusations against Iran in order to prevent reporting Iran's nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council. Therefore, and for the purpose of confidence building, certain parts of Iran's nuclear activities were voluntarily suspended at several junctures.
In addition to building confidence, insisting on Iran's rights, reducing international pressures and the possibility of war, and preventing Iran's case from being reported to the UN Security Council, Iran succeeded in completing its nuclear fuel cycle and took groundbreaking steps.[15]: 660–667 However, decisions made by the nuclear team under the leadership of Rouhani were criticized by certain circles in later years.[72][73]
Following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Rouhani resigned his post as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council after 16 years on 15 August 2005,[15]: 594, 601 and was succeeded by Ali Larijani as the new secretary who also took charge of Iran's nuclear case. Larijani, likewise, could not get along with the policies of the new government and resigned his post on 20 October 2007, to be replaced by Saeed Jalili. Rouhani then was appointed by the Supreme Leader as his representative at the SNSC.[74]
Presidential campaigns
2013 presidential election
Our centrifuges are good to spin when our people's economy is also spinning in the right direction.
Rouhani during TV debate[75]
Rouhani was considered a leading candidate in the June election because of his centrist views yet close ties to Iran's ruling clerics and the
2017 presidential election
Rouhani saw off a strong challenge from hardline Ebrahim Raisi at the 2017 election, a fellow cleric with radically different politics, who stirred up populist concerns about the sluggish economy, lambasted Rouhani for seeking foreign investment and appealed to religious conservatives. He had gathered momentum as conservatives keen to win back control of the government coalesced behind Raisi's initially lacklustre campaign. His other rivals were Mostafa Mir-Salim and Mostafa Hashemitaba.
Rouhani ultimately won the election in a landslide, providing a ringing endorsement of his efforts to re-engage with the West and offer greater freedoms.[82] He received 23,636,652 of the votes,[26] in an election that had 73.07% turnout.
Presidency (2013–2021)
In his press conference one day after election day, Rouhani reiterated his promise to recalibrate Iran's relations with the world. He promised greater openness and to repair the country's international standing, offering greater nuclear transparency in order to restore international trust.[83] Revolutionary Guards Major General Mohammad Jafari criticised Rouhani's administration. "The military, systems and procedures governing the administrative system of the country are the same as before, [but it] has been slightly modified and unfortunately infected by Western doctrine, and a fundamental change must occur. The main threat to the revolution is in the political arena and the Guards cannot remain silent in the face of that." In May 2017, Rouhani was re-elected as president with 23.5 million votes.[84]
He was announced the winner on the day following the election. He received his presidential precept from his predecessor,
Cabinet
Rouhani announced his cabinet on 4 August. He had a ten-day mandate for introducing his cabinet members to the parliament but he did not use this. Then, parliament voted on his cabinet, which was scheduled on 14–19 August. Between three reformist politicians (
Domestic policy
Economic
The economic policy of Hassan Rouhani focuses on the long-term economic development of Iran. It deals with increasing the
Rouhani is urgently going to regenerate the
Rouhani plans urgent economic priorities such as control of high inflation, increasing purchasing power and cutting down high unemployment.[92]
Culture and media
According to a March 2014 report by Center for International Media Assistance, since Rouhani takeover in 2013, "Censorship of the Internet has only gotten worse, but it's more and more clear that Rouhani does not have complete control over this process".[93]
Regarding internet censorship, he has stated: "Gone are the days when a wall could be built around the country. Today there are no more walls." He has also criticized Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for showing trivial foreign news, while ignoring pressing national matters.[94] Rouhani also appeared to pledge his support for increasing Internet access and other political and social freedoms. In an interview, he said: "We want the people, in their private lives, to be completely free, and in today's world having access to information and the right of free dialogue, and the right to think freely, is the right of all peoples, including the people of Iran."[95]
Human and women's rights
Rouhani has maintained a policy of not publicly addressing human rights issues, on which he may have limited powers.[96]
Rouhani is a supporter of women's rights. In a speech after he was elected as the President of Iran, he said:
There must be equal opportunities for women. There is no difference between man and woman in their creation, in their humanity, in their pursuit of knowledge, in their understanding, in their intelligence, in their religious piety, in serving God and in serving people.[97]
Rouhani's government appointed Elham Aminzadeh, Shahindokht Molaverdi and Masoumeh Ebtekar as vice presidents; as well as Marzieh Afkham, the first female spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Rouhani has promised to set up a ministry for women. Many women's rights activists, however, are reluctant about a ministry for women; because they feel that this ministry may isolate women's issues. It has also been suggested that Rouhani will require a deputy minister position within each ministry to address gender issues and issues pertaining to women.[98]
In September 2013, eleven political prisoners were freed including noted human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh. The move came just days before his visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly.[99]
Critics say that little has changed in domestic policy since Rouhani took office. Iranian authorities executed 599 people during Rouhani's first 14 months in power, compared with 596 during the last year in office of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran has the highest number of executions anywhere in the world, apart from China.
In 2015, Rouhani appointed
Foreign policy
Rouhani's foreign policy has been contained by the conservatism of
In March 2015, Rouhani sent a letter to
Nuclear talks
United Kingdom
Rouhani met with
United States
Rouhani's visit to New York City in September 2013 was hailed[who?] as major progress in Iran's relations with the United States. He previously said that his government is ready to hold talks with the United States after thirty-two years. Rouhani denied reports that during his trip he had refused a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama,[111] and felt more time was needed to coordinate such a meeting.[111] On 27 September 2013, a day after the two countries foreign ministers met during the P5+1 and Iran talks, Rouhani had a phone call with President Obama that marked two countries' highest political exchange since 1979.[111][112][113] However, due to this phone call Rouhani was protested by conservatives who chanted "death to America" when he returned to Tehran.[111]
In February 2019, Rouhani condemned the United States for trying to topple Iran's ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.[114]
On 3 January 2020, the second most powerful person in Iran,
After Joe Biden won the US presidential election in November 2020 against Donald Trump, Hassan Rouhani stated that it was an opportunity for Biden's administration to "compensate for previous mistakes".[116]
Syria
It is generally assumed that he will follow the ruling establishment in completely supporting
Iraq
Rouhani has termed
Saudi Arabia
On Iran's relationship to Saudi Arabia, Rouhani wrote that during the Khatami administration, he, as the secretary-general of the National Security Council at that time, reached "a comprehensive and strategic agreement" with the Saudis, but that this agreement was not upheld during the
there was a consensus [during Khatami's administration] that we should have good relations with Saudi Arabia. No one within the nezaam [regime] was opposed to it. I went to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 1998. At that time Saudi Arabia had accused us of involvement in the
Nayef bin Abdulaziz took part in the negotiations. The negotiations began at 10 p.m. and lasted until 5 a.m. the next morning. We finally agreed on a security agreement. I returned to Saudi Arabia in [early] 2005, and had extensive discussions about the region, mutual problems between us, and the nuclear issue. We agreed with Nayef to form four committees. They were supposed to convene every few months and pursue the issues. After I left [the post of] secretary-general, none of the committees were formed and there were no meetings.[122]— Hassan Rouhani, Sterateji-ye Amniat-e Melli Jomhouri-ye Eslami-ye Iran (National Security Strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Rouhani has criticized
Israel
Rouhani has described Israel as "an occupier and usurper government" that "does injustice to the people of the region, and has brought instability to the region, with its warmongering policies",[124] and a "cancerous tumor established by Western countries to advance their interests in the Middle East."[125]
When asked in an interview with CNN to clarify his opinion about the
Rouhani termed the
Public image and perception
 | This section needs to be updated. (February 2020) |
According to a poll conducted in March 2016 by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) among Iranian citizens, Rouhani had 75% approval and 12% disapproval ratings and thus a +54% net popularity, making him the second most popular politician in Iran, after
Job approval
Rouhani began his presidency in November 2013 with approval and disapproval ratings near 58% and 27% respectively,[131] according to Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) which was assessing it on a quarterly basis. It gradually fell to 48% and he recorded a 33% disapproval rating in May 2015.[131] His job approval rose after Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, according to a survey conducted by IranPoll for the University of Maryland's Center for International and Security Studies (CISSM), standing at 88% with a large majority (61%) expressing a "very favorable view" of him (up from 51% in July 2014) and a ±3.2 margin of sampling error. The poll also indicated Rouhani would have a "tough challenge" in maintaining the support due to the fact that people had high economic expectations from the deal, and it could become his Achilles' heel.[132] iPOS recorded a 54% approval and 24% disapproval days after the deal in August 2015.[131] The trend continued until February 2016, with 67% and 18% approval and disapproval ratings, marking his highest level since taking office.[133]
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on
Center for International and Security Studies
and IranPoll referring to Very favorable (dark green), Somewhat favorable (light green), Somewhat unfavorable (light red) and Very unfavorable (dark red)[134][135]Post-presidencyOn 24 January 2024, Rouhani said that he had been excluded by the Guardian Council from its shortlist of candidates for elections to the Assembly of Experts to be held in March 2024. He criticized the decision, saying that "the minority that rules officially and publicly wants to reduce people’s participation in elections."[136] Political positionsRouhani is considered to be a moderate and pragmatic politician. During his reformist faction.[139]
Electoral history
PublicationsHaving the rank of research professor at Iran's Center for Strategic Research, he has written many books and articles in Persian, English and Arabic, including the following:[3]
See also
References
External links
Hassan Rouhani at Wikipedia's sister projects
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