Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli ( fa, عبدالرضا رحمانی فضلی; born 1959) is an Iranian

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

. He was the president of Supreme Audit Court from 2008 to 2013.

Early life and education

Fazli was born in

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

in 1959. He is a graduate of

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM, fa, دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد, ''Danushgah-e Ferdusi-ye Mashhad'') is a public university in Mashhad, the capital city of the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan. FUM is named after Abul-Qâsem F ...

. He also received a PhD in geography from Tarbiat Modarres University.

Career

Fazli served in different positions, including the head of the planning department, member of parliament, deputy chairman of Iranian National TV and Radio, deputy head of economic and international affairs at the ministry of interior. He was appointed secretary and deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council in October 2005. He was the deputy of

Ali Larijani Ali Ardeshir Larijani ( fa, علی لاریجانی, ; born 3 June 1957) is an Iranian conservative politician, philosopher and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran ...

in charge of the cultural, social and media affairs during the first presidential term of

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

. Fazli resigned from post in November 2007 one month after the appointment of

Saeed Jalili Saeed Jalili ( fa, سعید جلیلی; born 1 September 1965) is an Iranian conservative politician and diplomat who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment ...

as the head of the council. In July 2008, Fazli was appointed as the president of the Supreme Audit Court. He was reappointed to the post in July 2012 for further four years. In late July 2013, the Mehr news agency reported that Fazli is the only candidate for interior minister at the cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani. Fazli was nominated by Rouhani for the post on 4 August. He was confirmed by the Parliament on 15 August, replacing

Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar Mostafa Mohammad Najjar ( fa, مصطفى محمدنجّار, born 2 December 1956) is an Iranian politician and retired IRGC general. He was interior minister of Iran from 2009 to 2013 and minister of defense in the first cabinet of Mahmoud Ahmad ...

in the post. Fazli was given 256 for votes and 19 against votes, while 9 members of the Parliament did not attend the session. On 24 August 2013 President Rouhani additionally appointed Fazli Secretary General of Drug Control Headquarters. In an interview in November 2019, he referred to the civilian protesters, saying: "We shot them in both the head and the legs, not just the head. We also hit the legs!" 1,500 people were killed during two weeks of unrest across Iran. ·Iranian officials later admitted that they approved live fire against civilians protesters, at the order of Fazili.

Views and alliances

Fazli is a

politician and long-term associate of

, former parliament speaker.

Sanctions

In May 2020, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

sanctioned Fazli due to his alleged role in the 2019 Iranian protests and committing human rights abuses against the Iranian people.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahmani Fazli, Abdolreza 1959 births Ferdowsi University of Mashad alumni Government ministers of Iran Living people Members of the 4th Islamic Consultative Assembly Tarbiat Modares University alumni Iranian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions