Morteza Alviri (, born 23 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as

Mayor of Tehran The Mayor of Tehran is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Tehran, City Council of 21 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Tehran. Since 2 September 2021, Alireza Zakani is the mayor of Tehran. Previously, ...

from 1999 to 2001.

Education

He is a graduate in

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT); (, romanized : Dāneshgāh-e sana'ti-e sharif) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is widely considered to be the nation's most prestigious and leading institution for science, technology ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and has a Master's in Management from the State Management Training Center.

Career

During the regime of

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

he was imprisoned for activities with the

Fallah A fellah ( ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a local peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". Due to a con ...

organisation. After 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 ...

he served on the central council of the

Islamic Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

. He was affiliated with the leftist faction of the

Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization () was an umbrella political organization in Iran, founded in 1979 by unification of seven underground Islamist revolutionary paramilitary and civil organizations which previously fought against t ...

, and was elected an MP in the

Majlis of Iran 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 ...

in 1980 and 1988. He was a close associate of then-speaker

Ali 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 Islamic Republic, Rafsanjani was the ...

. Alviri was a supporter of

Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer, and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution and one ...

, who was dismissed as

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 ...

's deputy in 1988, and as a result Alviri was prevented from running in the 1992 Majlis elections. Since then he moved from leftist to economically liberal views, and has served in various governmental positions including the

Supreme National Security Council Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; ''Showrāye Āliye Amniyate Mellī'' also ''Supreme Council for National Security'') is the national security council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The current secretary of the Supreme National Securi ...

's economic committee, the

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) is the main Iranian government agency responsible for operating nuclear power, nuclear energy and nuclear fuel cycle installations in Iran. The AEOI is the primary organization responsible for nuclear ...

, the Ministry of Mines and Metals and was secretary of the Supreme Council for Free Trade Zones during the presidency of

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

and

. He was unanimously selected as the Mayor of Tehran in June 1999 by the fifteen Tehran City Councillors following the imprisonment of the serving mayor,

Gholamhossein Karbaschi Gholamhossein Karbaschi (, ; born 23 August 1954) is an Iranian politician and former Shia cleric who was the Mayor of Tehran from 1990 until 1998. He is considered politically reformist and is a close ally of former president Mohammad Khatami. H ...

, on corruption charges. He is associated with Rafsanjani's

Executives of Construction Party The Executives of Construction of Iran Party () is a reformist political party in Iran, founded by 16 members of the cabinet of the then President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996. The party is a member of Council for Coordinating the Reforms F ...

. In November 2001, he narrowly avoided impeachment by the council. In February 2002 he resigned as Mayor, accused of mismanagement by

Ebrahim Asgharzadeh Ebrahim Asgharzadeh () is an Iranian political activist and politician. He served as a member of the 3rd Majlis (Iran's legislature) from 1988–1992 and as a member of the first City Council of Tehran from 1999–2003. His career in politics s ...

. In June 2003 he was appointed as Iran's ambassador to Spain. He was replaced by Seyyed Davoud Salehi on 22 June 2006.

Arrest

Mr. Alviri, Karrobi's representative to a committee tasked with investigating post-election crimes, was taken into custody by armed intelligence agents on 8 September 2009.

References

External links

*
Official website of Morteza Alviri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alviri, Morteza Mayors of Tehran 21st-century Iranian diplomats People from Damavand County Sharif University of Technology alumni Living people 1948 births Ambassadors of Iran to Spain Executives of Construction Party politicians Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 3rd Islamic Consultative Assembly Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization politicians Tehran Councillors 2017– Early People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members Imperial Iranian Army conscripted personnel Political prisoners in Iran