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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 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 ...
from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest. Mousavi served as the president of the
Iranian Academy of Arts Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) (; formally Academy of Arts of the Islamic Republic of Iran) was established in March 2000. It is one of the four academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the other three academies are the Iranian Academy of Medical ...
until 2009, when conservative authorities removed him. Although Mousavi had always considered himself a reformist and believed in promoting change within the 1979 constitution, on 3 February 2023, in the violent suppression of Iranians by
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 ...
, the
Supreme Leader of Iran The supreme leader of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the supreme leadership authority, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran (above the Presi ...
, he announced his opposition to the Islamic Republic and asked for a widespread referendum to fully change the constitution and make a fundamental change in Iran's political system. In the early years of the revolution, Mousavi was the editor-in-chief of ''
Jomhouri-e Eslami ''Jomhouri-e Eslami'' () is an official Iranian newspaper, which started its work on 30 May 1979, as the newspaper of Islamic Republic Party. In the beginning it was under the grantee of Islamic Republic Party and its managing director was Ali K ...
'', the official newspaper of the
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 ...
, before being elevated to
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
and eventually the post of Prime Minister. He was the last Prime Minister of Iran prior to the elimination of that position in the 1989 constitutional changes; he then went into semi-retirement for the next 20 years. Mousavi remains a member of the
Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( ''Majma'-e Tašxis-e Maslahat-e Nezâm'') is an administrative assembly of Iran appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of ...
and the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution; he has not participated in their meetings for years, which is interpreted by political analysts and commentators as a sign of his disapproval. For the 2009 Iranian presidential election, Mousavi came out of semi-retirement and ran as one of two Reformist candidates against the administration of incumbent
Iranian President The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran () is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the second highest-ranking official, after the supreme leader. The first election was held in 1980 and was won by Abulhassan Banisa ...
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
. According to official results, he did not win the election, and following alleged vote-rigging and manipulation, his campaign sparked a long protest that eventually turned into a national and international movement against the government and Supreme Leader. Despite the crackdown, he remains the leader of the
Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...
but has been severely restricted by Iranian authorities. He is currently under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
along with his wife
Zahra Rahnavard Zahra Rahnavard (; born Zohreh Kazemi; 19 August 1945) is an Iranian academic, artist and politician. Rahnavard is a university professor, artist, and intellectual who was under house arrest from February 2011 to May 2018. In 2009, Foreign Poli ...
and
Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...
.Iran: Further information: Opposition leaders arbitrarily held
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, 29 September 2011


Early life, education, and career

Seyyed ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn. The title may also refer to the descendants of the fa ...
Mir-Hossein Mousavi was born on 2 March 1942 in Khameneh,
East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil province, West Azerbaijan province ...
, Iran. He is an ethnic Azerbaijani, whose family originated from
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
. His father, Mir-Ismail, was a tea merchant from Tabriz. Mousavi grew up in Khameneh, and moved to
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. ...
following his graduation from high school in 1958. Mousavi is a relative of fellow Khameneh native
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 ...
: Mousavi's grandmother is Khamenei's paternal aunt. He earned his undergraduate degree in architecture from the National University of Tehran (now Shahid Beheshti University), and in 1969 was awarded his master's degree in architecture from the National University of Tehran, focusing primarily on traditional
Iranian architecture Iranian architecture or Persian architecture (, ''Me'māri e Irāni'') is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC with characteristic examples distr ...
. While a student, he was an active member of the leftist Islamic association of students. During his college years, Mousavi had a close relationship with 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 ...
, a religious-nationalist political party founded by
Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Mazinani (, 23November 193318June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who specialised in the sociology of religion. He is regarded as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century. He has be ...
, whom Mousavi admired for many years. Although the party would not be invited to the post-revolution government, many future political leaders of Iran who were affiliated with the party at the time, among them
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 ...
, Yadolah Sahabi, Mahmoud Taleghani, and
Mostafa Chamran Mostafa Chamran Save'ei () (2 October 1932 – 21 June 1981) was an Iranian physicist, politician, commander and guerrilla fighter who served as the first defense minister of post-revolutionary Iran and a member of parliament as well as the ...
would become Mousavi's closest allies. Mousavi was among the student activists who regularly attended Ali Shariati's lectures at Hosseiniyeh Ershad of Tehran, where Mousavi also exhibited his artwork under the pseudonym Hossein Rah'jo. In 1969, Mousavi married
Zahra Rahnavard Zahra Rahnavard (; born Zohreh Kazemi; 19 August 1945) is an Iranian academic, artist and politician. Rahnavard is a university professor, artist, and intellectual who was under house arrest from February 2011 to May 2018. In 2009, Foreign Poli ...
, a fellow university student who specialized in sculpture, and was among the well-known students of Ali Shariati. Rahnavard later became the
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of
Alzahra University Alzahra University (, ''Dāneshgāh-e Alzahrā'') is a Women's college, female-only public university in the Vanak neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. Alzahra University is the only comprehensive women's university in Iran and the Middle East. Accepta ...
as well as political adviser to Iran's former President
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 ...
. The couple have three daughters; all speak
Azeri Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...
,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, English, and
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
.


Iranian Revolution

Mousavi and his wife had an active role in the success of 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 was imprisoned for organizing street protests against the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
of
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last 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 Iranian Revolution, which ...
. As 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 ...
neared, Mousavi, whose earliest political hero was
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
, became more actively involved in the struggle. He initially participated in the establishment of the Jonbesh-e Mosalmanan-e Mobarez (
Movement of Militant Muslims The Movement of Militant Muslims () is an Iranian Islamic socialist political group led by Habibollah Payman. The group had been revolutionary and is close to Council of Nationalist-Religious Activists of Iran A council is a group of people ...
) alongside
Habibollah Peyman Habibollah Peyman (; born 1935) is an Iranian politician. He is the founder and the leader of an Islamist Socialist political party, named ''Jonbesh Moslamanan Mobarez'', which is banned by the religious government of Iran. He is also one of the ...
which eventually led him to join ranks with
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 ...
, who was a close associate of the revolution leader,
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 ...
, and abandoned his previous connections with Ali Shariati. Following the collapse of the Shah's regime in 1979, Mousavi helped
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 ...
found the Islamic Republican Party in 1979 in order to assist the establishment of the
Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
in Iran and hasten the overthrow of Iran's monarchy. He became the political secretary of the party, and chief editor of ''Jomhouri-e Eslami'', the party's official newspaper. For this, he is widely viewed as "The Architect" of the Islamic Republic both in Iran and abroad. In mid-1979, he was appointed by Khomeini to the
Council of the Islamic Revolution The Council of the Islamic Revolution () was a group formed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to manage the Iranian Revolution on 10 January 1979, shortly before he returned to Iran. "Over the next few months there issued from the council hundreds ...
. As the chief editor of ''Jomhouri-e Eslami'', he was a loud critic and opponent of
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 ...
, the first president of the Islamic Republic, until the latter's 1981 flight to France, following a successful impeachment by parliament. During Banisadr's presidency, the prime minister
Mohammad Ali Rajai Mohammad-Ali Rajai (; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was an Iranian politician who served as the second president of Iran from 2 August 1981 until his assassination four weeks later. Before his presidency, Rajai had served as prime minister un ...
nominated Mousavi as his foreign minister, however Banisadr opposed the nomination and Mousavi was not appointed. On 15 August 1981, as part of the restructuring of the government in Rajai's cabinet, Mousavi was appointed
foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
. He held the post until 15 December 1981, when he received the higher appointment of prime minister.


Prime ministership

In August 1981, President
Mohammad-Ali Rajai Mohammad-Ali Rajai (; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was an Iranian politician who served as the second president of Iran from 2 August 1981 until his assassination four weeks later. Before his presidency, Rajai had served as prime minister un ...
and 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 ...
were assassinated in an explosion.
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 ...
was then elected as the third
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 ...
in the October 1981 Iranian presidential election. He put forward
Ali Akbar Velayati Ali Akbar Velayati ( ; born 24 June 1945) is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Scien ...
as his prime minister, but the Iranian parliament did not give him the
vote of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
, and he was defeated with a vote of 80 to 74. Although Khamenei had strong reservations with Mousavi, as a compromise with the left-leaning parliament, agreed to offer Mousavi for the post of premier. On 28 October 1981, with the approval of Khomeini, the parliament approved Mousavi with a vote of 115 to 39 to become the 79th
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 ...
on 31 October 1981. The conflicts between Mousavi, who belonged to the left wing of the Islamic Republic, with Ali Khamenei (the current leader of Iran), who belonged to the right wing of the Islamic Republic, continued during their eight years of shared governance. However, an escalation in conflicts between the two led to Mousavi's resignation shortly after the end of 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 ...
in 1988. As the prime minister, Mousavi had the full backing of Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader, and he refused to accept his resignation. While his government was viewed as somewhat liberal, he was still under the pressure of hardliners, though Khomeini generally protected Mousavi from the conservatives and gave him a free rein in deciding actions for the economy. However, his involvement in security matters remained less clear, and it was disputed whether or not Mousavi was involved in the killing of thousands of dissidents and minorities in Kurdistan and Mazandaran during this time. It has generally been accepted that Mousavi and Mohsen Rezaee (who was in charge of the Revolutionary Guards during this time) have never been close, though he was in charge of foreign operations, particularly in Lebanon. Mousavi's premiership coincided with the Iran–Iraq War. He guided the country through its war with Iraq, and earned popular acclaim for his stewardship of the national economy. He pioneered a
bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...
-based economy, which many believe was responsible for a fair distribution of goods among the people throughout the Iran–Iraq War. Many analysts praise his handling of Iran's economy, his civil and economic leadership during the Iran–Iraq War, and his efforts to end Iran's international isolation. Others remember him as being "unpredictable" and less able to navigate Iran's labyrinthine political system than his rivals. In 1986, Mousavi played a great role in the
Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...
and secret negotiations and dealing with USA on helping them free the American hostages in Lebanon, in return for sale of the American weapons and spare-parts that Iran's army badly needed for the Iran–Iraq War. A year after the end of 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 ...
on 20 August 1988, Ruhollah Khomeini died (June 3, 1989), and Ali Khamenei was elected as the new
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 ...
by the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts (), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader of Iran. All directly elected members must first be vetted ...
. Following his death, Mousavi and his fellow left-wingers lost their main source of support within the establishment. During the parliament hearing on post-war reconstruction plans, Mousavi had heated arguments with
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 ...
, the speaker of Iran's parliament at the time, over Rafsanjani's suggestion that Iran accept the offer of western countries to help with post-war reconstruction. On 28 July 1989, the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
was amended and approved by Iranian voters in a national referendum with a 97% yes vote. At this time, Mehdi Karrubi had been elected as the new speaker of the parliament, to whom the amended constitution was declared. One of these amendments abolished the position of Prime Minister. Rafsanjani was elected as the fourth president of Iran on 28 July 1989, and became the president on 3 August 1989. Mousavi's premiership ended on the same date. Mousavi was not invited to be a participant in the new government headed by Rafsanjani, and disappeared from the public sphere.


Early stance on pre-revolutionary icons

Some pre-revolutionary filmmakers have accounts about celebrities who have been hurt by Mousavi's positions in his early years in office. Saeed Motalebi, an established writer and director in the pre-revolutionary era, has one of such accounts that refers to the 1982 film ''The Imperilled'' (Barzakhi-ha) which was written by him and had four pre-revolutionary male stars in the lead roles. It was directed by
Iraj Ghaderi Iraj Ghaderi (‎; 17 April 1934 – 6 May 2012) was an Iranian film director and actor. He briefly studied to become a pharmacist, but soon dropped out. He died in Tehran on 6 May 2012, aged 77. Life Iraj Ghaderi studied in pharmacology b ...
and, with its patriotic story about resisting foreign invasion, it was a chance for Fardin, Malek-Motiei, Ghaderi and Rad to renew their threatened careers as actors in the post-revolutionary atmosphere. The film was a hit and became the highest grossing Iranian film of all time in its short period of screening in theaters. But it was soon banned and consequently the four actors were banned from working. About how the film's success was turned into disaster, Motalebi says:
One Friday Mr.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf Mohsen Makhmalbaf (, ) (born May 29, 1957) is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won 50 awards, and served as a juror in more than 15 major film festivals. His award-winning films ...
gathered a couple of people and they started collecting signatures for a petition which was written on a scroll, stating that "We have made a revolution while these actors are transgressors." They did it right in front of that theater in the Revolution Square near the university of Tehran. They said "Look how theaters are crowded while
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
events are deserted." That's how they stopped my film. Then a reporter who was queued to ask something about our film, went and told the then prime minister (Mir-Hossein Mousavi) "There is a film in theaters whose writer wants to convey that people who are fighting in the fronts are problematic persons." The prime minister replied "These are leftovers of junk intellectuals who will soon go to the dustbin of history." Malek-Motiei became jobless and turned his garage into a pastry shop. Ghaderi put some rice bags in his office and became a rice dealer. Fardin opened a pastry shop too and when I went to visit him, I used to wait outside as long as there were no customers so that he wouldn't feel ashamed when he saw me. These were all caused by those illogical efforts which I will never forgive.


1988 prison massacres

On 12 December 2018
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
published an interview of the
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n national public service
ORF (broadcaster) (ORF ; , ) is the national public broadcaster of Austria. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in ...
, on 13 December 1988, with Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi was asked about the mass executions inside Iran's prison at the time he was in office. Mousavi replied, “We repressed them”. Amnesty's report criticizes Mousavi's response asserting that “without explaining what he is acknowledging ... he focuses on criticizing the July 1988 armed incursion by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).” The report goes on to say:
Since 2009, when he re-entered politics as a Reformist opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi’s response when asked about the 1988 prison massacres has often been to avoid commenting or to claim that they took place without the knowledge of his government. In this way, he has tried to justify his failure to stop, investigate or at least condemn the killings publicly. However, documents from Amnesty International’s archives show that the organization repeatedly raised its concerns about reports of mass prisoner executions with senior officials in Mir Hossein Mousavi’s government.


Retirement from politics

When Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, died in 1989, Mousavi was no longer welcome in the government. It was the start of 20 years of an almost total absence from public life for Mousavi, which many considered as a sign of his disapproval of the established government, though he did sit on two high-level government councils. In 1989, Ali Khamenei named him as a member of the
Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( ''Majma'-e Tašxis-e Maslahat-e Nezâm'') is an administrative assembly of Iran appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of ...
, his membership of which still continues. Mousavi has been a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution since 1996. He was also the political adviser of president
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 ...
(1989–1997) and senior adviser of president Khatami (1997–2005). During these years, he partly retired from politics and returned to architecture and teaching, becoming President of the
Iranian Academy of Arts Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) (; formally Academy of Arts of the Islamic Republic of Iran) was established in March 2000. It is one of the four academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the other three academies are the Iranian Academy of Medical ...
, one of the four academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The main building of the Academy is designed by him. At the same time, he developed his passion for painting and writing poetry. He was a professor at
Shahid Beheshti University Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) (), originally founded as the Melli University (National University of Iran) (), is a Public university, public research university in Tehran, Iran. The university offers programs at Bachelor's, Master's and Ph. ...
and later joined the Academic staff of
Tarbiat Modares University Tarbiat Modares University (: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modarres'', lit. "Professor Training University") is a graduate public university located in Tehran, Iran. Faculties Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) was established in 1982 and is a comp ...
. His main field is architecture, and buildings such as ''Kanoon-e Tohid'' in Tehran, ''Beynolharamein Bazaar'' in
Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
, ''Haft-e-tir Martyr's tomb'' in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra, and ''Salman mosque'' in the presidential residence are examples of his work. In recent years, he has been more active in painting and has participated in many exhibitions.


Presidential candidacy


Pre-2009

Mousavi refused to run for the presidency in the 1997 elections, which caused the reformists to turn to his former Cabinet Minister, then a little-known cleric,
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 ...
, who was elected by a landslide. During Khatami's administration, Mousavi served as the Senior Adviser to the President. Mousavi was considered the leading candidate from the reformist alliance to run in the
2005 Iranian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Iran 17 June 2005, with a second round run-off on 24 June. Mohammad Khatami, the outgoing president of Iran, stepped down on 2 August 2005, after serving his maximum two consecutive four-year terms according ...
. However, on 12 October 2004, he officially declined the proposal after a meeting with President Mohammad Khatami and the two other top members of one of Iran's main Reformist parties, the
Association of Combatant Clerics The Association of Combatant Clerics () is an Iranian reformist Clericalism in Iran, clerical political party. It is regarded as a Left-wing politics, left-wing party within the Iranian political spectrum. History The Association of Combatant Cl ...
,
Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...
and
Mohammad Mousavi-Khoiniha Sayyid Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (Persian: سید محمد موسوی خوئینی‌ها) (born 1945) is an Iranian cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was the founder of the now defunct '' Salam' ...
.


2009 presidential candidacy

After 20 years of political silence, on 9 March 2009, Mousavi announced his intention to run in the
2009 Iranian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Iran on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes c ...
. He stated that his main goals were: to institutionalize social justice, equality and fairness, freedom of expression, to root out corruption and to speed up Iran's stagnant process of privatization, and thus move Iran away from what he called "an alms-based economy". Mousavi criticized the then-current conservative President,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
, for his alleged economic mismanagement, asking, when Iran "was making profits from the high prices of oil, did he (Ahmadinejad) envisage a situation when the prices would fall?" On 16 March 2009, the former Iranian President Khatami withdrew from the election in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi.


Platform

Mousavi ran as an independent Principled Reformist candidate. Although he is one of the original founders of the Iranian reformist camp, he shares many principles of the conservatives. Many reformist parties, among them reformist Islamic Iranian Participation Front, whose main candidate was Khatami, have supported his candidacy after the latter withdrew from the race. Many supporters of the reformist movement, however, objected to Mousavi's candidacy on the grounds that he was not committed to the principles of the reformist parties. Although Mousavi stated that he was not running as a reformist, he indicated that he welcomed the support of different parties, both reformist and conservative. He started his campaign from the center of Iranian politics; over time, he shifted more towards the left by declaring his support for reforms. Although some active members of the conservative camp, such as
Emad Afroogh Emad Afroogh (; 16 January 1958 – 14 April 2023) was an Iranian sociologist and conservative politician. Biography Afroogh was born in Shiraz on 16 January 1958. He studied at Shiraz University and Tarbiat Modares University. He was a member o ...
, as well as the conservative newspaper ''Jomhouri-e Eslami'', supported Mousavi's candidacy, he did not receive the official backing of any major conservative party. His candidacy made it harder for the conservatives to support
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
, and large conservative parties, such as the Combatant Clergy Association, did not back the current President for a second term of office.


Domestic policies

Mousavi had on numerous occasions indicated his wish to change the constitution in order to remove the existing ban on the private ownership of television stations (currently all Iranian television stations are state-owned), as well as transfer the control of the law-enforcement forces to the President (so that they represent the people, since the people directly elect the President through popular vote) from the Supreme Leader. He said that "the issue of non-compliance with the Iranian rules and regulations is the biggest problem that the country is currently faced with" and that he wished to put in place ways to enforce the laws further, and that it was also important to bring an end to keeping the populace uninformed about government matters. Among his policies were creation of a free environment for the flow of information and corrections to the national budget. He wanted to promote the creation of private, non-governmental TV networks and stop the operation of the "
Moral Police Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality in India. Some of India's laws, and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing. The target of mor ...
". He has spoken about his opposition to massive changes in ministries, which he claims is what
Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. ...
has done. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
reported that Mousavi "called for greater personal freedoms in Iran and criticized the ban on private television channels", but "refused to back down from the country's disputed nuclear programme, saying it was "for peaceful purposes". Regarding the Iranian nuclear program, his plan includes a reduction of the cost by opposing radical approaches while maintaining what he sees as "Iran's right to civilian nuclear technology". Mousavi has stated that giving up the country's nuclear program would be "irreparable" and that the Iranian people support the nuclear program. "No one in Iran will accept suspension," Mousavi has said, adding that if elected, his policy would be to work to provide "guarantees" that Tehran's nuclear activities would never divert to non-peaceful aims. On 30 May, Mousavi pledged that if elected he would amend " discriminatory and unjust regulations" against women, and take other measures in favour of women's rights and equality. He said that he would seek to disband the so-called morality police force, and ensure that Iranian women are treated equally, with the ability to attain financial empowerment and to serve at the highest levels of decision making bodies.


Foreign policies

Mousavi directly addressed activating foreign policy to boost national interest by reducing tensions with other nations. This included negotiating with U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
if "his actions are in keeping with his words". He condemned Ahmadinejad's attitude toward
The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
(namely, that it was "a myth"), and condemned the killing of Jews in the Holocaust.


Protests to the election results

The election was held on 12 June 2009. The official results showed Ahmadinejad winning by a landslide, though Mousavi and many others believed the results to be fraudulent, suggesting that the Interior Minister,
Sadegh Mahsouli Sadegh Mahsouli (, born 9 March 1959) is an Iranian politician who was Minister of Interior from 2008 to 2009 and Minister of Welfare and Social Security from 2009 to 2011. He was appointed to this post on 19 November 2009 as part of President ...
, an ally of Ahmadinejad, interfered with the election and distorted the votes to keep Ahmadinejad in power. Mousavi has claimed victory, and called for his supporters to celebrate it, sparking large protests as a result. Due to protests, from the opposition, the Supreme Leader ordered a partial recount of the election results. The recount was a random counting of 10% of the ballots. In order to create transparency, a 12-member council showed the recount on television, and concluded that President Ahmadinejad still led Mousavi after the recount. After the recount, the Guardian council certified the election, and concluded no evidence of irregularities, and closed the dossier on the election.


Beginning of the Green Movement

The Iranian Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the Iranian presidential election in 2009, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Mousavi,
Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...
, Hossein-Ali Montazeri and Mohammad Khatami are recognized as leaders of the Green Movement. Where is my vote? () was a motto used during the protests. Anti-Ahmadinejad protesters chanted the English-language phrase in numbers not seen since the 1979
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 an attempt to receive international attention. The Iranian Government had released results claiming a two-thirds majority for Ahmadinejad, but supporters of Mousavi and Karroubi, the moderate opposition leaders, accused the government of rigging the vote. In the aftermath of the election and ensuing comments by Ahmadinejad and other conservative leaders, calling the opposition "a pile of dust" (خس و خاشاک), protests were widened and massive peaceful protests were held around the country. Although the Iranian government prohibited any gatherings of protesters in Tehran and across the country, significantly slowed down internet access, and censored any form of media supporting the opposition, hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in defiance. Large numbers of protesters were arrested, and several were killed by the police and militia forces
Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...
.
Neda Agha-soltan Neda Agha-Soltan ( – ''Nedā Āghā-Soltān''; 23 January 1983 – 20 June 2009) was an Iranian student of philosophy, who was participating in the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, 2009 presidential election protests with ...
and Sohrab Aarabi were among the victims, and alleged cases of rape in prison ( Taraneh Mousavi) were also uncovered. Since the election, the government has severely restricted the access of foreign and Iranian media to footage and information relating to opposition activities. As a result, scenes of the massive street protests and more frequent student protests have been filmed by participants themselves.


Death of Mousavi's nephew

Seyed Ali Mousavi was the nephew of Mousavi. Ali Mousavi died on 27 December 2009, during the
2009 Iranian election protests After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The protests con ...
, when he was reportedly shot in either the back or the chest by security forces during demonstrations against
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
's contested election win.Hardliners seize Mousavi corpse as Iran regime hits back
''The Times'', 29 December 2009
Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the official spokesman of Mir-Hossein Moussavi's campaign abroad, told BBC News in an interview that Iranian secret police had called Seyed Ali Mousavi several times, days before he was shot, saying: "We will kill you." After he died, his body was taken to Ebn-e Sina hospital, where protesters demonstrated outside. The protesters were broken up with tear gas by the Iranian security forces. It was later revealed that the government had removed his body and taken it to an undisclosed location in an attempt to crack down on the protests.


The Green Path of Hope

Mousavi and other reformist leaders are now working with peaceful and legal methods to widen the influence of their reforms. They have set up a new coalition, named The Green Path of Hope. Iranian political parties and movements need to be authorized by the
Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
. Mousavi neither recognizes the current government as legitimate, nor is likely to receive permission; the movement was named a "path" in order bypass this law. The Green Path of Hope seeks to continue protests against Ahmadinejad's presidency following lawful and peaceful methods, and the full execution of the constitution, as Mousavi says: Mousavi is quoted in describing the movement: According to organization officials, the movement encompasses numerous political parties, NGOs and social networks. Mousavi emphasized that existent, autonomous social networks in the community are part of this movement: The "Green Path" has six main members on its central council, who are connected to reformist parties, NGOs, and social networks. The main body will be ordinary protesters. The strategy is to connect existent pressures and issues in society in a social network, and to therefore lead protests in a lawful manner.


Arab Spring

In the wake of the Tunisian and
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
revolutions, Green movement leaders in Iran called for demonstrations on 14 February 2011. The government responded by placing leaders of the movement under house arrest, and on 14 February Iranian state TV broadcast images of "some 50 conservative MPs marching through parliament's main hall" chanting "Death to Mousavi, death to Karroubi".


House arrest

Mousavi and his wife, as well as Mehdi Karoubi, another opposition figure, were put under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
after they urged their supporters to organize demonstrations in support of uprisings in the Arab world in February 2011. On 2 February 2013, Iran's security forces arrested Mousavi's two daughters, Zahra and Nargess Mousavi, in their home. The semi-official news agency ILNA reported that they were questioned, and then freed the same day. After the election of
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...
as
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 ...
in 2013, it was announced that Mousavi and Rahnavard would soon be freed from house arrest. However, , he was still under house arrest. In 2019, Mousavi was given the right to exit his home once a week. In addition, his immediate family were also able to visit him anytime. They were also given permission to use a mobile phone and
satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
.


Political and academic posts

* Member of Central Campaign of Islamic Republican Party (1979–1981) * Head of Political Office of Islamic Republican Party (1980–1981) * Editor-in-chief of ''Islamic Republican (newspaper), Islamic Republican'' (1981) * Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1981) * President of Iranian Cultural Revolution, Council of Cultural Revolution (1981) *
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 ...
(1981–1989) * President of Mostazafen Foundation of Islamic Revolution (1981–1989) * President of Economy Council (1982–1989) * Political adviser of president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989–1997) * Senior adviser of President of Iran, President Mohammad Khatami, Khatami (1997–2005) * Member of
Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( ''Majma'-e Tašxis-e Maslahat-e Nezâm'') is an administrative assembly of Iran appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of ...
(1989–2012) * Member of Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution (1996–2012) * President of
Iranian Academy of Arts Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) (; formally Academy of Arts of the Islamic Republic of Iran) was established in March 2000. It is one of the four academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the other three academies are the Iranian Academy of Medical ...
(2000–2009) * Leader of
Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...
and The Green Path of Hope (2009– )


See also

* Shia opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran * *


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Official site


''Tehran Bureau'' on ''PBS Frontline'', 16 February 2010 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mousavi, Mir-Hossein Mir-Hossein Mousavi, 1942 births Musawis Candidates for President of Iran Council of the Islamic Revolution members Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran Iranian architects Iranian journalists Iranian painters Iranian revolutionaries Iranian democracy activists Iranian Green Movement Iranian newspaper publishers (people) Iranian prisoners and detainees Iranian reformists Central Council of the Islamic Republican Party members Living people Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Movement of Militant Muslims politicians People from East Azerbaijan province People of the Iranian Revolution Presidential advisers of Iran Prime ministers of Iran Prisoners and detainees of Iran Iranian people of the Iran–Iraq War Iranian political party founders Heads of government who were later imprisoned Shahid Beheshti University alumni Academic staff of Shahid Beheshti University Academic staff of Tarbiat Modares University Political prisoners in Iran