This is a list of the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the establishment of that office in 1980. The president of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in the country. The most recent president, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash on 19 May 2024, leaving the office vacant. Mohammad Mokhber is serving as acting president until Masoud Pezeshkian, who won the 2024 Iranian presidential election, takes over.
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution.[1] The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it. This was also approved in constitutional referendum on December 2 and 3.
The 1979 Constitution designated the supreme leader as the head of state and the president and prime minister as the heads of government. The post of prime minister was abolished after the 1989 constitutional referendum.
The first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25, 1980 and resulted in the election of Abolhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981 by Parliament. Until the early election on July 24, 1981, the duties of the president were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected president on July 24, 1981 and took office on August 2. Rajai remained in office for less than one month, with both he and his prime minister being assassinated on August 30, 1981. Once again, a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president.
Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani were each elected president for two terms. Ebrahim Raisi was the eighth president, serving from his election in 2021 until his death on May 19, 2024 leaving the office occupied in an acting capacity by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected as the current president on July 6, 2024.
Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-1989) | ||||||||||
1st Constitution (19791989) | ||||||||||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | Election | Previous office | Prime minister | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| The Council of the Islamic Revolution deputised during the interim (3 December 1979 4 February 1980). | ||||||||||
| The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (22 June 1981 2 August 1981). | ||||||||||
| The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (30 August 1981 9 October 1981). | ||||||||||
2nd Constitution (from 1989) | ||||||||||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | Election | Previous office | First vice president | Cabinet | |||
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| President | Born | Age at | Age at | Time in office | timespan | Lifespan | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Died | Age | ||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||
| 6 | |||||||||
| 7 | |||||||||
| 8 | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| 9 | data-sort-value= | (Incumbent) | (Incumbent) | ||||||