Mohammad-Ali Rajai (; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was an Iranian politician who served as the second

president of Iran The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran () is the head of government of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran and the second highest-ranking official, after the Supreme Leader of Iran, supreme leader. The 1980 Iranian presidential election, fi ...

from 2 August 1981 until his assassination four weeks later. Before his presidency, Rajai had served as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

under

Abolhassan Banisadr Abolhassan Banisadr (; 22 March 1933 – 9 October 2021) was an Iranian politician, writer, and political dissident. He was the first president of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution abolished the monarchy, serving from February 1980 until h ...

, while concurrently occupying the position of foreign affairs minister from 11 March 1981 to 15 August 1981. He died in a

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

on 30 August 1981 along with then-prime minister

Mohammad-Javad Bahonar Mohammad-Javad Bahonar (, 5 September 1933 – 30 August 1981) was a Shia Iranian theologian and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Iran for less than one month in August 1981. Bahonar and other members of Mohammad-Ali Rajai's govern ...

Early life and education

Mohammad-Ali Rajai was born on 15 June 1933 in

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

, Iran. His father, a shopkeeper named Abdolsamad, died when he was four years old. Rajai grew up in Qazvin and moved to Tehran in the late 1940s. He joined the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

at age sixteen or seventeen. In 1959, he graduated from

Tarbiat Moallem University Kharazmi University (Abbreviation: KHU) (, ''Daneshgah-e Xuarazmi''), formerly Tehran University of Teacher Training (), is a public research university in Iran, KHU named after Khwarizmi (c. 780–850), Persian mathematician, astronomer and ge ...

with a degree in education, later working as a teacher of mathematics.

Political career

After moving to Tehran, Rajai became involved in the anti-

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

movement and associated with Mahmoud Taleghani and the Fadayeen-e Islam group. A one-time member of the largely anti-clerical People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), Rajai soon came out against its left-leaning ideals and in 1960, joined the

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; ) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslims, Iranians, Constitutionalists and Mossadeghists". It is th ...

. He was arrested at least twice by

SAVAK The Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State (), shortened to as SAVAK () or S.A.V.A.K. () was the secret police of the Imperial State of Iran. It was established in Tehran in 1957 by national security law. and continued to operate un ...

for his opposition activities, with his longest detention lasting from May 1974 to late 1978. Later in a 1980 speech to the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, Rajai displayed his beaten right foot to the audience, attributing its condition to being

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d by the Shah's interrogators in prison. President Rajaei Inauguration at Majlis

Following 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 ...

in 1979, Rajai left the Freedom Movement and was appointed the

minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in an

Interim Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

led by

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Interim government of Iran, 1979, Iran's interim government. One of the leading figures of Iranian Revolutio ...

. Using his newfound power, Rajai sought the rapid

Islamization The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

of Iranian schools by banning the teaching of English, removing courses thought to be "non-Islamic", closing universities to prevent potential student dissent, and firing teachers with whom he disagreed. Although the

Interim Government of Iran The Interim Government of Iran () was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. The regime was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, one of the members of the Freedom Movement of Iran, and formed on the order of Ayatollah Kh ...

resigned on 6 November 1979 as a result of the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

, Rajai remained in his post until 12 August 1980, when he was appointed

by newly-elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, who was under pressure from the dominant

Islamic Republican Party The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; , also translated Islamic Republic Party) was formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini in their goal to establish theocracy in Iran. It was disbanded in 1987 due to internal confl ...

. Rajai set up his cabinet by selecting

Karim Khodapanahi Karim Khodapanahi (born 1941) is an Iranian politician. He was the acting foreign minister of Iran between 1980 and 1981. Biography Khodapanahi served as the acting minister of foreign affairs from 3 August 1980 to 11 March 1981 in the cabinet ...

as foreign affairs minister,

Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani (, 6 August 1931 – 21 October 2014) was an Iranian Shia cleric, writer and conservative and principlist politician who was Prime Minister of Iran from 2 September until 29 October 1981. Before that, he was ...

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

, and Javad Fakoori as

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

. Just a month into Rajai's premiership on 22 September 1980, the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

began.

Presidency

Banisadr was impeached on 21 June 1981 by the

Iranian Parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

, allegedly because of his moves against the clerics in power.

Ruhollah 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 ...

, acting as

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

, held a Provisional Presidential Council of six people headed by

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 ...

and later Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili. Rajai, a member of the Council, nominated himself for the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

in 1981, running as a member of the

. By winning 91% of the votes, Rajai officially became the president after taking the Oath of Office on 2 August 1981. In one of his first acts in office, he named

to become the next

prime minister of Iran The prime minister of Iran was a political post that had existed in Iran (Persia) during much of the 20th century. It began in 1906 during the Qajar dynasty and into the start of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1923 and into the 1979 Iranian Revolution ...

Assassination

On 30 August 1981, Rajai held a meeting of Iran's Supreme Defence Council along with Bahonar. Witnesses later stated that a trusted aide brought a briefcase into the conference room, set it between the two leaders, and then left. A short period later, another person opened the case, triggering a hidden bomb that set the room ablaze, leading to the deaths of Rajai, Bahonar, and six other officials. The attack occurred two months after the

Haft-e Tir bombing On 28 June 1981 (7 Tir 1360 in the Iranian calendar; , ), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Islamic Republican Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-four leading officials of the Islam ...

. Iranian officials identified MEK operative Massoud Keshmiri as the culprit, though others allege the bombing was by political rivals within Rajai's political party. He is buried in

Behesht-e Zahra Behesht-e Zahra ( ; ) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1. History In the early 1950s, all the cemeteries in Tehran were supposed to be replac ...

cemetery.

Political positions

Rajai's political programs were based on a form of constitutional law that included a position of privilege for Islam. He insisted that those in control of the state must be Muslim, emphasized the ''

Velayat-e Faqih The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (, also ''Velayat-e Faghih''; ) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), the religious and social affairs ...

,'' and believed it essential that the government cooperate with institutions such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and

Islamic Revolutionary Court Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try ...

. He respected people's freedom insofar as it did not contravene

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

and tried during his tenure to create a consistent government.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajai, Mohammad Ali 1933 births 1981 deaths People from Qazvin Freedom Movement of Iran MPs People of the Iranian Revolution Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Presidents of Iran Prime ministers of Iran Islamic Republican Party politicians Candidates in the July 1981 Iranian presidential election Assassinated Iranian politicians Burials at Behesht-e Zahra Iranian revolutionaries Deaths by explosive device Iranian prisoners of war Iranian torture victims Islamic Association of Teachers of Iran politicians People assassinated by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran Early People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members Simple living advocates Asian politicians assassinated in the 1980s Assassinated presidents in Asia National presidents assassinated in the 20th century 20th-century presidents in Asia Politicians assassinated in 1981