| Hassan Habibi | |
| Office: | First Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council |
| Term Start: | 12 April 1997 |
| Term End: | 9 September 1997 |
| Predecessor: | Office established |
| Successor: | Mohsen Rezaee |
| Appointer: | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| 1Blankname: | Chairman |
| 1Namedata: | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Office1: | Member of Expediency Discernment Council |
| Term Start1: | 8 May 1991 |
| Term End1: | 31 January 2013 |
| Appointer1: | Ali Khamenei |
| 1Blankname1: | Chairman |
| 1Namedata1: | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Order2: | 1st First Vice President of Iran |
| Term Start2: | 21 August 1989 |
| Term End2: | 26 August 2001 |
| President2: | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Mohammad Khatami |
| Predecessor2: | Office established |
| Successor2: | Mohammad-Reza Aref |
| Order3: | Supervisor of Presidential Administration of Iran |
| President3: | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Term Start3: | 5 September 1989 |
| Term End3: | 3 August 1997 |
| Predecessor3: | Mostafa Mir-Salim |
| Successor3: | Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Order4: | Minister of Justice |
| Term Start4: | 15 August 1984 |
| Term End4: | 29 August 1989 |
| President4: | Ali Khamenei |
| Primeminister4: | Mir-Hossein Mousavi |
| Predecessor4: | Mohammad Asghari |
| Successor4: | Esmail Shooshtari |
| Office5: | Member of the Parliament of Iran |
| Constituency5: | Tehran, Rey and Shemiranat |
| Term Start5: | 28 May 1980 |
| Term End5: | 28 May 1984 |
| Majority5: | 1,552,478 (72.7%) |
| Order6: | Minister of Culture and Higher Education |
| Term Start6: | 1 October 1979 |
| Term End6: | 28 May 1980 |
| Primeminister6: | Mehdi Bazargan |
| Predecessor6: | Ali Shariatmadari |
| Successor6: | Hassan Arefi |
| Birth Name: | Hassan Ebrahim Habibi |
| Birth Date: | 29 January 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Tehran, Imperial State of Iran |
| Death Place: | Tehran, Iran |
| Party: | |
| Awards: | Excellent Order of Independence[1] Order of Knowledge (1st class)[2] |
| Spouse: | Shafigheh Rahideh[3] |
| Native Name Lang: | fa |
Hassan Ebrahim Habibi (Persian: حسن حبیبی; 29 January 1937 – 31 January 2013) was an Iranian politician, lawyer, scholar and the first vice president from 1989 until 2001 under Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami. He was also a member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution and head of Academy of Persian Language and Literature from 2004 until his death in 2013.
Habibi studied sociology in France.[4] [5] He held a PhD in law and sociology. When he was a university student he visited Khomeini while the latter was in exile.[6]
Habibi was tasked by Ayatollah Khomeini to draft the prospective constitution of Iran when the latter was in exile in Paris.[7] His version was heavily modified due to criticisms and the final text was approved by the election in November 1979.[5]
Following the Iranian revolution, Habibi was named public spokesman for the revolutionary council.[8] He was among the main architects of the first draft of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was later passed for more discussion to an elected Assembly of Experts for Constitution. The assembly made significant changes in the original draft, e.g. by introducing the new position of "leader of the Islamic Republic" based on Khomeini's concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, which gave almost unlimited power to the clergy. The modified version was approved in a popular referendum in 1979. In the 1980 presidential election, Habibi ran for office, but received only ten percent of the vote against Banisadr's seventy percent.[9] Habibi was backed by Mohammad Beheshti in the election process.[9] In the same year he won a parliamentary seat, being a representative of the Islamic Republican Party.[10]
Habibi served as the minister of justice under Prime Minister Mousavi. He was first vice president of Iran from 1989 to 2001, eight years under President Rafsanjani and then four years under President Khatami. He was replaced by Mohammad Reza Aref in the post in Khatami's second term. He was also head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature[11] and a member of the Expediency Council.
Habibi died on 31 January 2013. He was buried at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in Tehran on 1 February.[12] The funeral service was attended by leading Iranian political figures, including President Ahmedinejad.[12]
Habibi is the author of several books, including God (1981), Society, Culture, Politics (1984), Islam and the Crisis of Our Time (1984), In the Mirror Of Rights: Views Of International Rights, Comparative Rights And Sociology (1988), Seeking the Roots (editing & translation) (1994), Casework of An Ages Student (1997), One Word Out Of Thousands (2 vol.) (1998-2001) and General International Rights (2 vol.) (2003).[13]
Habibi was director of the National Front publications in Europe during the 1960s. In the capacity, he was involved in publication and distribution of Payam-e-Daneshjou, organ of the party's student wing.
Habibi was a member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, before he defected to the Islamic Republican Party after the Iranian Revolution.[14]