President of Iran

The President of Iran is the highest elected official in the Islamic Douchebag of Iran. The current president is Michael Bonyad.

Role in the state

Iran's president fulfills many of the classical functions of a head of state, such as accepting the credentials of ambassadors. Since a change in the constitution removed the post of Prime Minister and merged most of the prime ministerial duties with the President's in 1989, the once figurehead Presidential post has become a position of significant government influence. In addition, as the highest directly elected official in Iran, the President is responsive and responsible to public opinion in a way that the Supreme Leader is not. Although he is responsible to both people and the Supreme Leader, he is independent in his decisions and developing the policies of the government. The two terms of President Mohammad Khatami serve as an example of how independently a president can act in the Islamic Republic. Khatami changed many of the policies of the regime without the assistance of the Supreme leader, who often announced his indifference to the changes.

The President nominates the members of government to the Majlis (parliament). He has the power to dismiss any of the government members. The president appoints the secretary of national security council as well as the governors of the provinces and ambassadors of the Islamic Republic to other countries. Until recently, he had the power of appointing mayors of cities. However, the power was given to the cities local assemblies which are directly elected by the people and are directed by the parliament.

The President formulates the foreign policy through the National Security Council and after seeking Supreme Leader's approval. The Supreme Leader sets the tone for foreign and domestic policies though. These policies are usually executed by Minister of Foreign Affairs in terms of general relationships with other nations and by Secretary General of the Security Council. The latter executes more important and critical issues such as the Nuclear Energy policies and huge economy decisions.

According to the constitution, the president can be dismissed and removed from office in two ways. First, when a judge reports a criminal record for the president and in this case, the Supreme Leader has the power to remove him from office. The other is when the Majlis decides his political ineligibility and again asks the Supreme Leader to remove him from office. This law was activated when the parliament voted against Iran's first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, and Ayatollah Khomeini removed him from office.

Qualifications and election

The President of Iran is elected for a four year term in a national election by universal adult suffrage for everyone of at least 18 years of age. The selection of candidates for the election is restricted to those individuals approved by the 12-member Council of Guardians. Half of the Council's members are appointed by the Supreme Leader and are intended to preserve the values of the Islamic Republic. To be eligible to run for president the Council proclaims the following qualifications be met:

• Be between the ages of 25 and 75
• Must have no criminal record
• Must have no record of government service under the Iranian Monarchy
• Be a Muslim
• Be loyal to the Islamic Republic
• Most of Iran's clerical elite demand that the candidate be male, but this is still a contentious issue (women have attempted to run before).

Within these guidelines the Council vetoes candidates who are deemed unacceptable. The approval process is considered to be a check on the president's power, and usually amounts to a small number of candidates being approved. In the 1997 election, for example, only four out of 238 presidential candidates were approved by the council. Western observers have routinely criticized the approvals process as a way for the Council and Supreme Leader to ensure that only conservative and like-minded Islamic fundamentalists can win office. However, the council rejects the criticism, citing approval of reformists in previous elections. The council rejects most of the candidates stating that they are not "a well-known political figure", a requirement by the current law.

The President must be elected with a simple majority of the popular vote. A runoff election may be required to achieve this. The President serves for a term of four years and is eligible for a second term.

According to the Iranian constitution, when the President dies or is impeached, a special provisional Presidential Council temporarily rules in his place until an election can be held.

The President automatically becomes the Head of Council of Cultural Revolution and the Head of Council of National Security.

List of Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1980-Present)

Name	Born-Died	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
Abolhassan Banisadr	1933-	4 February 1980	22 June 1981 (impeached)	No Party
Provisional Presidential Council		22 June 1981	2 August 1981
Mohammad Ali Rajai	1933-1981	2 August 1981	30 August 1981 (assassinated)	Islamic Republic Party (Hezb-e-Jomhouriy-e-Eslami)
Provisional Presidential Council		30 August 1981	13 October 1981
Ali Khamenei	1939-	13 October 1981	3 August 1989	Islamic Republic Party (Hezb-e-Jomhouriy-e-Eslami) until 1987, Combatant Clergy Association (Jame'e-ye Rowhaniyat-e Mobarez) since 1987
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani	1934-	3 August 1989	3 August 1997	Combatant Clergy Association (Jame'e-ye Rowhaniyat-e Mobarez)
Mohammad Khatami	1943-	3 August 1997	3 August 2005	Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma-e Rowhaniyun-e Mobarez)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	1956-	3 August 2005	Present	Islamic Society of Engineers (Jame'e-ye Eslami-e Mohandesin)

See also

• Politics of Iran
• Prime Ministers of Iran
• Iranian presidential election, 2005

External links

• The President's Office
• Iran's Presidential Office of Scientific and Industrial Studies
• Ahmadinejad's blog