The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; , also translated Islamic Republic Party) was formed in 1979 to assist the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

and

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

in their goal to establish theocracy in Iran. It was disbanded in 1987 due to internal conflicts.

Founders and characteristics

The party was formed just two weeks following the revolution upon the request of Ayatollah Khomeini. Five cofounders of the party were Mohammad Javad Bahonar,

Mohammad Beheshti Sayyed Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti (; 24 October 1928 – 28 June 1981) was an Iranian jurist, poetic philosopher, cleric and politician who was known as the second person in the political hierarchy of Iran after the Revolution. Beheshti is co ...

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

, and Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili. Early members of the central committee of the party, in addition to founding members, were Hassan Ayat, Asadollah Badamchiyan, Abdullah Jasbi,

Mir Hossein Mousavi ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 19 ...

, Habibollah Askar Oladi, Sayyed Mahmoud Kashani, Mahdi Araghi, and Ali Derakhshan. The party had three general secretaries: Beheshti, Bahonar and Khamenei. The party has been said to be distinguished by "its strong clerical component, its loyalty to Khomeini, its strong animosity to the liberal political movements, and its tendency to support the revolutionary organizations", such as the ''komiteh.'' Policies it supported included the state takeover of large capital enterprises, the establishment of an Islamic cultural and university system, and programs to assist the poor.Bakhash, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', (1984), p. 67 These revolutionary

ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

s originally used the party to form a monopoly over the post-revolutionary theocratic Iranian state. In its struggle with civilian opponents, the party made use of its ties to the Revolutionary Guards and

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

Secretaries-general

Causes of its dissolution

President Ali Khamenei meet Non-Iranian Hawza students - Office of the Islamic Republican Party in Qom

In the late 1980s, factionalism in the IRP intensified, the major issues being the Iran-Iraq War, whether to open up to foreign countries or remain isolated, and economic policies. Because all rival parties had been banned, the party "did almost nothing and had little incentive to." According to Ahmad Mneisi,

"While unanimous on the idea of a theological state and united under the umbrella of one party, the Islamic Republican Party (IRP), he religious rightdiffered on a number of issues, such as the extent to which religion is to take hold of political life (the Velayat-e Faqih debate).

Daniel Brumberg argued that the IRP was dissolved to weaken popular Prime Minister

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian politician, artist, architect and opposition figure who served as the 45th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 Iranian p ...

, as the party had become a stronghold of radical activism backing him in his dispute with President

. Another report states that it was dissolved in May 1987 due to internal conflicts, and the party was disbanded upon joint proposal of Rafsanjani and Khamenei on 2 May 1987 when their proposal was endorsed by Khomeini.

1983 congress

The party held its first congress in May 1983 and the members elected the 30-members central council as follows:

Allied organizations

The following organizations formed an alliance with the party: * Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization *

Islamic Coalition Party The Islamic Coalition Party (ICP; ) is a conservative liberal political party in Iran. The ICP is the pivotal organization within Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader and is considered a lay ally of the influential Combata ...

Combatant Clergy Association The Combatant Clergy Association () is a politically active group in Iran, but not a political party in the traditional sense. It has never been registered as a political party; however, it acts as a fragmented caucus and has actively operated ...

* Worker House

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Parliamentary elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Party, Islamic Republican 1979 establishments in Iran Political parties established in 1979 1987 disestablishments in Iran Political parties disestablished in 1987 Defunct political parties of the Islamic Republic of Iran Political parties of the Iranian Revolution Islamic political parties in Iran Parties of one-party systems Republican parties Iranian clerical political groups Anti-communist parties Anti-imperialist organizations Populism in Iran Shia Islamic political parties Khomeinist groups