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Masoud Pezeshkian

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Masoud Pezeshkian
مسعود پزشکیان
Pezeshkian in 2024
9th President of Iran
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 July 2024
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Vice PresidentMohammad Reza Aref
Preceded byEbrahim Raisi
Mohammad Mokhber (acting)
Member of the Consultative Assembly
In office
27 May 2008 – 28 July 2024
ConstituencyTabriz, Osku and Azarshahr, (East Azerbaijan)
Majority261,605 (36.27%)
Minister of Health and Medical Education
In office
22 August 2001 – 24 August 2005
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Preceded byMohammad Farhadi
Succeeded byKamran Bagheri Lankarani
Personal details
Born (1954-09-29) 29 September 1954 (age 70)
Mahabad, Imperial State of Iran
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Reformists
SpouseFatemeh Majidi (died 1994)
Children4[1]
Alma materTabriz University of Medical Sciences (MBBS)
Iran University of Medical Sciences
ProfessionHeart surgeon
Signature
Websitedrpezeshkian.ir
Military service
Allegiance Iran
Branch/service IRGC
Battles/warsIran–Iraq War

Masoud Pezeshkian (Persian: مسعود پزشکیان, pronounced [mæsʔˈuːd-e pezeʃkiːˈjɒːn]; born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and cardiac surgeon who became the ninth president of Iran on 28 July 2024.[2]

Pezeshkian served as governor of Piranshahr and Naghadeh counties and was elected to the Iranian parliament five times, representing Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr electoral district.[3][4][5] He was Minister of Health and Medical Education between 2001 and 2005 in the Government of Mohammad Khatami.[6]

He ran in the 2013 presidential election, but withdrew. He lost the 2021 Iranian presidential election.[7] He won the 2024 presidential election on 5 July in a runoff with 54.76% of the popular vote.[8] He became the President of Iran on 28 July 2024.[9] He is the oldest person to serve in this position, at the age of 69.[10]

Early life and education

Pezeshkian was born in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan, on 29 September 1954[11] to Iranian Azerbaijani parents.[12][13] In 1973, he received his diploma and moved to Zabol to serve his conscription duty. It was during this time that he became interested in medicine. After completing his service, he returned to his home province, where he entered medical school and graduated with a degree in general medicine.

During the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), Pezeshkian frequently visited the front lines, where he was responsible for sending medical teams and working as a fighter and doctor. He finished his general practitioner course in 1985, and started teaching physiology at the medical college.

After the war, Pezeshkian continued his education, specializing in general surgery at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. In 1993, he received a subspecialty in cardiac surgery from Iran University of Medical Sciences. He later became a specialist in heart surgery, leading him to become president of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences from 1994 to 1999.[14]

Political career

In 1997, Pezeshkian's political career began when he joined Mohammad Khatami's administration as Deputy Health Minister. He was the Iranian Health Minister from 2001 to 2005.[15][dead link‍] Then he was elected to the Iranian parliament in five terms, from 2008 to 2024, representing Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr. He served as the First Deputy Speaker of the parliament from 2016 to 2020.

Presidency (2024–present)

See also: Government of Masoud Pezeshkian

On 6 July 2024, Pezeshkian was elected President after winning the 5 July run-off of the 2024 presidential election with 16.3 million votes (53.7%) to Saeed Jalili's 13.5 million (44.3%).[16] He was formally appointed as the president by the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on 28 July 2024,[9] and was sworn in before the Iranian parliament on 30 July.[17]

After taking office, Pezeshkian retained Mohammad Eslami as Vice President and head of the Atomic Energy Organization,[18] while appointing the former First Vice President of Iran Mohammad Reza Aref and former Vice President and head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Saeed Ohadi back to their posts, in addition to appointing former Education Minister Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei as his chief of staff,[19][20][21] former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as the Vice President for Strategic Affairs,[22] Mohammad Ja'far Ghae'em Panah as the Vice President for Executive Affairs,[23] former finance minister Ali Tayebnia as his senior adviser,[24] Hamid Pourmohammadi as Vice President and head of the Plan and Budget Organization, Shahram Dabiri Oskuei as his deputy for parliamentary affairs,[25] Hossein Afshin as Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Affairs,[26] and Zahra Behrouz Azar, a critic of the Guidance Patrol, as the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs.[27]

Following Iran's threats to attack Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, Pezeshkian reportedly urged Khamenei to reconsider, warning of severe consequences to Iran's economy and infrastructure if an attack was carried out.[28] According to The Telegraph, Pezeshkian clashed with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who pushed for a direct strike on Israel, while he advocated for targeting Israeli bases in neighboring countries in order to avoid a full-scale war.[29] Pezeshkian stated that Iran had a right to retaliate against Israel for the attack.[30]

The names of the 19 ministers nominated as part of Pezeshkian's cabinet were announced on 11 August 2024.[31] Soon after the announcement, Zarif announced his resignation in protest against the composition of the cabinet.[32] On 21 August, the parliament approved the entire cabinet, the first time it had done so since 2001. The cabinet consisted of ministers who were selected by Pezeshkian to appease all the camps of Iranian politics, including Farzaneh Sadegh, the second woman to become a minister of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and Abbas Araghchi, who helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal agreement.[33]

Pezeshkian's first international visit as President was to Iraq in September 2024. The trip came amidst worsening relations between Iran and the United States, both of whom are allies of Iraq, due to an escalation in back-and-forth attacks between the US and pro-Iranian militias during the Israel–Hamas war.[34] He also met with leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan in Erbil.[35]

After the explosions of pagers carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in September 2024 which came amidst heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, Pezeshkian stated that Iran was willing to ease hostilies in return for Israel doing the same.[36] Iran however launched missiles against Israel in October 2024 following assassinations of Hezbollah leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, and the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Pezeshkian stated that the missile strikes were a response to Israel's aggression and warned it against getting involved in a conflict with Iran.[37]

Views

Pezeshkian and Mahmoud Sadeghi wearing IRGC uniforms, 2019

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Pezeshkian is a supporter of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and has called its current incarnation "different from the past".[38] He condemned the declaration of the IRGC as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration in 2019.[39] After the 2019 Iranian shoot-down of an American drone, Pezeshkian called the American government "terrorist" and described the IRGC's action to target the drone as "a strong punch to the mouths of the leaders of criminal America".[40] In June 2024 during a university meeting and in response to some criticisms, Pezeshkian put on an IRGC uniform, and said that he would wear it again as the IRGC is the "reason for the country remaining unified" .[41]

Anti-government protests

Pezeshkian has criticized the Iranian system multiple times. During the 2009 post-election protests, in a speech, Pezeshkian criticized the way the protesters were treated. In his speech, he mentioned the words of the first Shiite Imam [Ali] addressed to Malik Ashtar not to treat people "like a wild animal".[42]

Pezeshkian considered Iran's method of managing the 2018 protests as "scientifically and intellectually wrong". He blamed the country's system for all the events and said: "We should have done better."[43] After the 2022 protests, Pezeshkian demanded the creation of an assessment and clarification team regarding the death of Mahsa Amini. Although he considered the way of dealing with the protesters and their trial to be contrary to the constitution and demanded that the defendants should get lawyers, he later issued a statement, condemned the protests and did not consider it to be in the people's interest.[44]

Foreign policy

See also: Foreign policy of the Masoud Pezeshkian administration
Pezeshkian with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 22 October 2024
Pezeshkian, Xi Jinping, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and other leaders at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 24 October 2024

Pezeshkian has supported restarting discussions with the United States over the nuclear program of Iran, vowing to revive the agreement Iran reached with the U.S. and other world powers in 2015, in exchange for lifting the international sanctions against it.[45]

He has supported building amicable relationships with all countries except for Israel,[46] stating that Iran would keep supporting the "Axis of Resistance" against it.[47] After taking office as president, he stated that Iran would continue to support the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[17] Pezeshkian accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.[48]

Pezeshkian also defended the Iranian missile program, stating that it was necessary for the country's defense from Israel, and demanded that the latter be disarmed first for negotiations with the United States and its allies over the issue.[49]

Ethnic views

Pezeshkian emphasizes the rights of ethnic groups such as Azeris, Kurds, and Baluchis and states that the rights of these groups should be protected. He supports the implementation of Article 15 of the Iranian Constitution for all ethnicities. This principle says: "The official and common language and script of the people of Iran is Persian. Documents, correspondence, official texts and textbooks must be in this language and script, but the use of local and ethnic languages in the press and mass media and the teaching of their literature in schools is free, along with the Persian language." He argues that the implementation of this principle mitigates separatist and dissident motivations.[50] Pezeshkian also supports teaching of the Azerbaijani language in Iranian schools.[7]

Personal life

Pezeshkian's wife was a gynecologist.[51] In 1993, she died along with their youngest son in a car crash.[52] He raised his remaining two sons and daughter alone and has never remarried.[53] His daughter, Zahra, has a master's degree in chemistry from Sharif University of Technology, and was working at Jam Petrochemical before the Rouhani government came to power. She is also regarded as a political adviser.

Pezeshkian is a teacher of the Quran, and a reciter of the Nahj al-balagha, a key text for Shia Muslims.[54]

In addition to Persian, Pezeshkian speaks many languages, including Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Arabic and English.[55][56]

Pezeshkian is a fan of Tractor S.C.[57]

References

  1. ^ Ahangar, Ali. "مسعود پزشكيان؛ كسي كه مثل هيچ كس نيست". Etemaad Daily (in Persian). Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
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  4. ^ Standeford, Donald. "Iran Elects New President After Death Of Former President Raisi". www.ssj.news. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
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  52. ^ Wintour, Patrick (6 July 2024). "Masoud Pezeshkian: the former heart surgeon who became president of Iran". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 7 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  53. ^ "مسعود پزشکیان", ویکی‌پدیا، دانشنامهٔ آزاد (in Persian), 13 June 2024, archived from the original on 7 July 2024, retrieved 13 June 2024
  54. ^ Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (13 June 2024). "Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian shakes up Iran presidential election". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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  57. ^ "پزشکیان: اکثر بازی‌های تراکتور را با نوه‌ام محمدحسین به استادیوم می‌رویم /با هم بحث می‌کنیم؛ نقدم می‌کند، اما هیچ‌وقت دعوا نمی‌کنیم – خبرآنلاین". www.khabaronline.ir. Archived from the original on 7 July 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Health and Medical Education
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by First Vice Speaker of Parliament of Iran
2016–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Iran
2024–present 		Incumbent
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