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President of Iran

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The President of the
Islamic Republic of Iran
رئیس جمهوری اسلامی ایران(Persian)
Seal of the Presidential Administration of Iran
Incumbent
Mohammad Mokhber
Actingsince 19 May 2024
Presidential Administration
StyleMr. President[1]
TypeHead of government
Member of
Residence
SeatPasteur, Tehran
AppointerDirect vote
Term lengthFour years, renewable once consecutively
Formation4 February 1980;44 years ago(1980-02-04)
First holderAbolhassan Banisadr
DeputyFirst Vice President
Salary2155 USD annually (538,592,400﷼)(as of 2019)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website

Thepresident of Iran(Persian:رئیسجمهور ایران,romanized:Rais Jomhure Irān) is thehead of governmentof theIslamic Republic of Iranand the second highest-ranking official, after theSupreme Leader.Thefirst electionwas held in 1980 and was won byAbulhassan Banisadr.Mohammad Mokhbercurrently serves as theacting Presidentof Iran followingthe deathofEbrahim Raisi,the former president, on 19 May 2024. He is expected to be succeeded byMasoud Pezeshkianon July 30, who won the2024 Iranian presidential election.

History

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Main article:List of presidents of Iran
Politics of Iran
Government of Islamic Republic of Iran
Leadership
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Supreme Councils
Local governments
Elections
Political partiesandfactions
Inside government
Reformists
Principlists
Outside government
Monarchism
Liberalism
Nationalism
Pan-Iranism
Socialism
Intellectual backdrop
Foreign relations
Related topics

After theIranian Revolutionof 1979 and1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendumon March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini,ordered an election for theAssembly of Experts,the body tasked with writing the constitution.[citation needed]The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime MinisterMehdi Bazarganapproved it.[citation needed]

The 1979 Constitution designated theSupreme Leader of Iranas the head of state and the President andPrime Ministeras the heads of government.[further explanation needed]The post of Prime Minister was abolished in 1989.[citation needed]

Thefirst Iranian presidential electionwas held on January 25, 1980, and resulted in the election ofAbulhassan Banisadrwith 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981, byParliament.Until theearly election on July 24, 1981,the duties of the President were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council.Mohammad-Ali Rajaiwas elected president on July 24, 1981, and took office on August 2. Rajai was in office for less than one month because he and his prime minister were both assassinated ina bombing.[3]Once again a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981, whenAli Khameneiwas elected president.

Theelection on August 3, 2005resulted in a victory forMahmoud Ahmadinejad.Theelection on June 12, 2009was reported by government authorities as a victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent candidate, although this is greatly disputed by supporters of rival candidates, who noted the statistical anomalies in voting reports and large-scale overvoting in the officially announced tallies.[4]

Ali Khamenei,Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,Mohammad Khatami,Mahmoud AhmadinejadandHassan Rouhaniwere each elected president for two terms.

The most recent president of Iran wasEbrahim Raisi.He succeededHassan Rouhani,who served eight years in office from 2013 to 2021. On May 19, 2024,a helicopter carrying Raisi crashedin the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. There were no survivors at the crash site.[5]Raisi was the second president of Iran to have died in office.[3]Taghi Rahmani,the husband of detained activist and Nobel laureateNarges Mohammadi,said Raisi's death would not structurally change the Iranian leadership under Khamenei.[6]Following his death, first vice presidentMohammad Mokhberwas designated as acting president until new elections could be held on 28 June.

TIME Magazinenoted that presidential elections in Iran change nothing as Supreme Leader Khamenei — and not the President — wields the ultimate power.[7]Tallha Abdulrazaq, an Iraqi researcher at theUniversity of Exeter's Strategy and Security Institute, stated that Khamenei, the longtime Supreme Leader of Iran, always uses the president as a kind of a buffer zone between him and the people. "Anything that goes right, Khamenei then can say 'I am the wise leader who put this guy in charge and he made the right policy decisions.' Anything that goes wrong, he can say 'we should get rid of this guy. He is not good for the country, he is not good for you.'"[8]

Office

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Presidential Administration of Iran,office of the President in Pastor Street, Tehran

The president is required to gain the Supreme Leader's official approval before being sworn in by theParliament,and the Supreme Leader has the power to dismiss the elected president if he has either been impeached by Parliament or found guilty of a constitutional violation by the Supreme Court.[9]The president answers to the Supreme Leader, who functions as the country'shead of state,and executes his decrees.[10][11]Unlike the executive in other countries, the president of Iran does not have full control over the government, which is ultimately under the direct control of the Supreme Leader.[10][11]Beforeelections,nominees to become a presidential candidate must be approved by theGuardian Council.Members of the Guardian Council are chosen by the Supreme Leader.[12]The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term bydirect voteand is not permitted to run for more than two consecutive terms.

Chapter IX of theConstitution of the Islamic Republic of Iransets forth the qualifications for presidential candidates. The procedures for presidential election and all other elections in Iran are outlined by the Supreme Leader.[13]The president functions as the executive of the decrees and wishes of the Supreme Leader, including: signingtreatieswith foreign countries and international organizations; and administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

The president appoints the ministers, subject to the approval of Parliament and the Supreme Leader, who can dismiss or reinstate any of the ministers andvice presidentsat any time, regardless of the president or parliament's decision.[21][22][23]The Supreme Leader also directly chooses the ministers of Defense, Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Interior, as well as certain other ministries, such as the Science Ministry.[24]Iran's foreign policy is directly controlled by theoffice of the Supreme Leader,with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' role limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran'sambassadorsto Arab countries, for example, are chosen by theQuds Corps,which reports directly to the Supreme Leader.[25]

The current Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei,ruling Iran for more than three decades, has issued decrees and made final decisions oneconomy,education,environment,foreign policy,national planning, and almost everything else in the country.[25][14][15][16][17][18][19]Khamenei has also made final decisions on the degree of transparency inelections in Iran,[13]and has fired and reinstatedpresidential cabinetappointments.[21][22]

Qualifications and election

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The procedures for presidential election and all other elections in Iran are outlined by the Supreme Leader.[13]The President of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a nationalelectionbyuniversal adult suffrageby everyone of at least 18 years of age.[26]Presidents can only be reelected once if in a consecutive manner.[27]Candidates for the presidency must be approved by theCouncil of Guardians,which is a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics selected directly byIran's Supreme Leader(who may also dismiss them and replace them at any time), and six lawyers proposed by the Supreme Leader-appointed head of Iran's judicial system and subsequently approved by theMajles.[28]According to the Constitution of Iran candidates for the presidency must possess the following qualifications:

  • Iranian origin;
  • administrative capacity and resourcefulness;
  • a good past record;
  • trustworthiness and piety; and
  • convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the officialmadhhabof the country.[29][30]

Within these guidelines the Councilvetoescandidates who it deems 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. Inthe 1997 election,for example, only four out of 238 presidential candidates were approved by the council. Some 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. The council denies this, citing approval ofIranian reformistsin 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 asimple majorityof the popular vote. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, arunoff electionis held between the top two candidates.

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

Legality of a woman to be candidate

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The legality of women running for presidency depends upon the meaning of one of the criteria the candidate is required to fill. The 115th article of the Iranian constitution states that the president must be elected from among "religious and politicalmen"or" religious and politicalpersonalities",depending on the interpretation (Persian:رجال مذهبی و سیاسی,romanized:rejāl-e mazhabi va siāsi).[31]In 1997, the Guardian Council used the first interpretation to reject the candidature of Azam Taleghani, the first woman to run for presidency. However, before the 2021 presidential election, the guardian council's spokesman said that legally there is no impediment for a woman to be president.[32]

Inability

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According to the article 131 of theIranian constitution,"In case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the President or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, hisfirst deputyshall assume, with the approval of theLeader,the powers and functions of the President. The Council, consisting of theSpeaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly,Chief Justice,and the first deputy of the President, is obliged to arrange for a new President to be elected within a maximum period of fifty days. In case of death of the first deputy to the President, or other matters which prevent him to perform his duties or when the President does not have a first deputy, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place. "[33]

Powers and responsibilities

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Presidential Guard

The President's duties include the following, subject to supervision, policy guidance and approval by the Supreme Leader:[34]

Latest election

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Main article:2024 Iranian presidential election
CandidateParty or allianceFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Masoud PezeshkianIndependentReformists10,415,99144.3616,384,40354.76
Saeed JaliliIndependentPrinciplists9,473,29840.3513,538,17945.24
Mohammad Bagher GhalibafProgress and Justice Population of Islamic IranPrinciplists3,383,34014.41
Mostafa PourmohammadiCombatant Clergy AssociationPrinciplists206,3970.88
Total23,479,026100.0029,922,582100.00
Valid votes23,479,02695.7029,922,58298.01
Invalid/blank votes1,056,1594.30607,5751.99
Total votes24,535,185100.0030,530,157100.00
Registered voters/turnout61,452,32139.9361,452,32149.68
Source:ISNA,IranIntl,Tejarat News

See also

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References

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  1. ^"HH The Amir, President of Iran Give Joint Press Statements".Qatar Embassy in London. 12 January 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 6 August 2020.Retrieved29 May2020.
  2. ^"حقوق رئیس جمهور و نمایندگان چقدر است؟".Mashreghnews.ir. 2019-06-29.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-02-15.Retrieved2019-07-09.
  3. ^ab"Iran's president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site, state media says".Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2024.Retrieved20 May2024.
  4. ^"Moussavi vows to 'pay any cost' to fight Iran election results".CNN.2009-06-15.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-11.Retrieved2017-05-22.
  5. ^Regencia, Ted."Rescuers find helicopter of Iran president, foreign minister after crash".Al Jazeera.Retrieved2024-05-20.
  6. ^Parent, Deepa (2024-05-20)."'People are in no mood to mourn': mixed reactions in Tehran after death of President Ebrahim Raisi ".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2024.Retrieved2024-05-20.
  7. ^"Iran's Election Will Change Nothing".Time.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-05-21.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  8. ^"Elections won't change much. Iran still belongs to Khamenei".TRT World.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-05-17.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  9. ^Erdbrink, Thomas (2011-10-25)."Iran's supreme leader floats proposal to abolish presidency".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-12-21.Retrieved2021-06-16.
  10. ^ab(see Article 110 of the constitution).
  11. ^abAxel Tschentscher."ICL – Iran – Constitution".Servat.unibe.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-08-21.Retrieved2019-07-09.
  12. ^"Council of Guardians | Definition, Role, Selection, & History".Encyclopedia Britannica.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-18.Retrieved2021-03-17.
  13. ^abc"Leader outlines elections guidelines, calls for transparency".Tehran Times.2016-10-15.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-06-12.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  14. ^ab"Iran's Khamenei hits out at Rafsanjani in rare public rebuke".Middle East Eye.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-04.Retrieved2017-01-01.
  15. ^ab"Khamenei says Iran must go green – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East".Al-Monitor.17 November 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-12-22.Retrieved2017-01-01.
  16. ^abLouis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi (16 May 2014)."Exclusive: Iran pursues ballistic missile work, complicating nuclear talks".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 31 July 2017.Retrieved2 July2017.
  17. ^ab"IranWire – Asking for a Miracle: Khamenei's Economic Plan".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-07.Retrieved2017-01-01.
  18. ^ab"Khamenei outlines 14-point plan to increase population".Al-Monitor.2014-05-22.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-08-01.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  19. ^ab"Iran: Executive, legislative branch officials endorse privatization plan".payvand.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-01-05.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  20. ^Ali Vafadar (1995).The constitution and political change.p. 559.
  21. ^ab"Iranian lawmakers warn Ahmadinejad to accept intelligence chief as political feud deepens".CP.Archived fromthe originalon 2017-08-08.Retrieved2017-05-21.
  22. ^ab"BBC NEWS – Middle East – Iranian vice-president 'sacked'".Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-03.Retrieved2017-01-01.
  23. ^Amir Saeed Vakil, Pouryya Askary (2004).constitution in now law like order.p. 362.
  24. ^"Did Khamenei block Rouhani's science minister?".Al-monitor. 2017-10-23.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-10-24.Retrieved2019-07-09.
  25. ^ab"Khamenei Orders New Supervisory Body to Curtail Government".ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive. 2017-09-25. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-10-10.Retrieved2019-07-09.
  26. ^"شوراي نگهبان افزايش سن رأي‏دهندگان از 15 سال به 18 سال را تأييد كرد".ilna.ir.Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2007.Retrieved17 January2022.
  27. ^"constitution"(PDF).wipo.int.Retrieved26 December2020..
  28. ^Bazzi, Mohamad (12 June 2009)."Iran Elections: Latest News".Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on 5 December 2010.Retrieved13 June2009.
  29. ^Constitution of IranArchived2018-08-21 at theWayback MachineArticle 115 – Qualifications
  30. ^"قانون اساسی جمهوری ملی ایران".Majlis.ir.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-08-04.Retrieved2014-03-30.
  31. ^Constitution of IranArchived2018-08-21 at theWayback MachineArticle 115 – Qualifications
  32. ^Dagres, Holly (2020-10-15)."Will Iran let a woman run for president in 2021?".Atlantic Council.Retrieved2024-05-22.
  33. ^Constitution
  34. ^"functions".president.ir.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-24.Retrieved2020-12-22.
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