Mohammad-Reza Rahimi

Mohammad-Reza Rahimi محمدرضا رحيمی
First Vice President of Iran
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 September 2009
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Vice President of Iran for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
In office 5 October 2005 – 13 September 2009
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Majid Ansari
Succeeded by	Ahmad Mousavi
Governor of Kurdistan province
In office 1993–1997
Preceded by	Hassan Zohree
Succeeded by	Abdollah Ramezanzadeh
Member of Parliament of Iran
In office 1980–1992
Constituency	Kurdistan
Personal details
Born	11 January 1949 (1949-01-11) (age 62) Qorveh, Iran
Political party	Isargaran Population
Spouse(s)	Fateme Rahimi
Children	2
Alma mater	Oxford University Azad University
Profession	Politician Judge
Religion	Shia Islam

Mohammad-Reza Rahimi (Persian:محمدرضا رحيمی , born in 11 January 1949) is an Iranian politician who is the current First Vice President since 13 September 2009. Previously, he was Vice President for Parliamentary affairs from 2005 to 2009. He was also Governor of Kurdistan province from 1993 to 1997.

Early life

He was born on 11 January 1949 in Qorveh, Iran. He married Fateme Rahimi on 1970 and they have a daughter and a son.

Education

He received a B.C from Tehran Azad University. Rahimi also claims to hold a Ph.D. from Oxford University. This claim has been vastly disputed by many Iranian sources.^[1] He has also claimed to have a Ph.D. from Belford University, characterized as "just one of hundreds of diploma mills easily accessible online."^[2] Alef, an Iranian site that belongs to Ahmad Tavakkoli, has published documents purporting to show fraudulent documents created by Rahimi.^[3]

Political career

He was elected as Member of Parliament of Iran from his province of birth Kurdistan in Legislative election of 1980 as a member of Islamic Republican Party. He was in Parliament until 1992 when he resigned from his seat. He held many positions when he was a MP such as Head of Arts Commission and a member of Foreign Policy Commission. He was appointed Governor of Kurdistan Province in August 1993 by President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and was in office until August 1997 when Mohammad Khatami elects as new president and named new governors. Rahimi was not in Khatami's list of governors. He leave politics in 1997 and enjoyed to Business careers. He was active in Presidential campaign of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during 2005 presidential election. When Ahmadinejad won the election, named Rahimi as his Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in 5 October 2005. He was appointed as the 5th First Vice President of Iran on September 13, 2009 in a declaration by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and succeeded Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei who was First Vice President for a short time. He is also head of school of law at Tehran Azad University since 2000.

He was Acting President of Iran from 20 April 2011 to 1 May 2011 when President Ahmadinejad boycott his official duties.

Corruption Charges

Based on the claims of at least two members of Iranian Parliament (Majlis), Rahimi was the head of a corruption band that became known as Fatemi Circle. This circle had an office in Fatemi street in Tehran. Naderan, a member of Majlis who is close to Ahmad Tavakkoli, has criticized the judicial system for not arresting him.^[4] Motahari, another member of Majlis, has asked Ahmadinejad to cooperate with judicial system on this issue and called the accusations serious.^[5]

References

1. ^ http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/53535/
2. ^ "I-Team 10 Investigation: Diploma mills". WHEC-TV. 2005-02-08. http://www.10nbc.com/index.asp?template=item&story_id=13935. Retrieved 2007-03-13. 
3. ^ http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/54871/
4. ^ http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/67566/83/
5. ^ http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/67678/83/

Political offices
Preceded by Hassan Zohree	Governor of Kurdistan Province 1993-1997	Succeeded by Abdollah Ramezanzadeh
Preceded by Majid Ansari	Vice President of Iran for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs 2005-2009	Succeeded by Ahmad Mousavi
Preceded by Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei	First Vice President of Iran 2009-present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	Acting President of Iran 20 April-1 May 2011	Succeeded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Order of precedence
Preceded by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council	order of precedence of Iran as First Vice President of Iran	Succeeded by Fereydoon Abbasi as Head of Atomic Energy Organization

Persondata
Name	Rahimi, Mohammad Reza
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 January 1949
Place of birth	Qorveh, Kurdistan, Iran
Date of death
Place of death