Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani Explained

Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani
Office:Chairman of the Assembly of Experts
Term Start:8 March 2011
Term End:21 October 2014
1Blankname:Supreme Leader
1Namedata:Ali Khamenei
Predecessor:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Successor:Mahmoud Shahroudi
Office1:44th Prime Minister of Iran
Term Start1:2 September 1981
Term End1:29 October 1981
President1:Ali Khamenei
Predecessor1:Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
Successor1:Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Office2:Minister of Interior
Term Start2:10 September 1980
Term End2:3 September 1981
President2:Abolhassan Banisadr
Mohammad-Ali Rajai
Primeminister2:Mohammad-Ali Rajai
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
Predecessor2:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (acting)
Successor2:Kamaleddin Nikravesh
Office3:Secretary of the Guardian Council
Term Start3:22 July 1980
Term End3:17 December 1980
Appointer3:Ruhollah Khomeini
Predecessor3:Position established
Successor3:Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani
Birth Date:6 August 1931
Birth Place:Kan District, Tehran, Imperial State of Persia
Death Place:Tehran, Iran
Resting Place:Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine
Alma Mater:Qom Seminary
Party:Combatant Clergy Association
Nationality:Iranian
Spouse:Nesa Khaton Sorkhei
Children:3
Website:Official website
Allegiance:Iran
Serviceyears:1979–1982
Commands:Revolutionary Committees
Signature:Signature of Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani.svg
Native Name Lang:fa

Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani (Persian: محمدرضا مهدوی کنی, 6 August 1931 – 21 October 2014) was an Iranian Shia cleric, writer and conservative and principlist politician who was Prime Minister of Iran from 2 September until 29 October 1981. Before that, he was Minister of Interior in the cabinets of Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. He was the leader of Combatant Clergy Association and Chairman of the Assembly of Experts and also founder and president of Imam Sadiq University.

Early life

Mahdavi Kani was born on 6 August 1931[1] in the village of Kan, near Tehran.[2] His father was an Ayatollah and taught in the Mofid School. After he finished basic education in Kan, he studied at Borhan High School in Tehran. He left for Qom in 1947 to study at a religious seminary.[2] His teachers included Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Reza Golpayegani, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Boroujerdi and Allameh Sayyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei.[2]

He came back to Tehran in 1961 to teach religious sciences. In that time, most of clerics participated in protests against Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Mahdavi Kani joined these clerics and formed alliance with Ayatollah Khomeini.[2] He also was imprisoned by Shah three times.[3]

Career

After the demise of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, Mahdavi Kani went back to Tehran and continued his struggle against the Pahlavi regime, something which he had started since he was 18, during the time of Ayatollah Boroujerdi. He was considerably active and effective in his participation in the Islamic movement of Iran led by Khomeini. Before the Islamic Revolution, he was appointed by Khomeini to the Revolutionary Council and later took up various political and religious positions. He was the leader of the Combatant Clergy Association, which he cofounded in 1977.[4] Mahdavi Kani refused to join Islamic Republican Party in 1979, because he believed clerics should remain non-partisan.[5]

He was appointed chief of the Central Provisional Komiteh for the Islamic Revolution that was a body in charge of trials and executions of the civil and military officials of the Pahlavi era.[6]

He served as the minister of interior in the cabinet of Mohammad-Ali Rajai to succeeding Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He was reappointed as minister of interior in the cabinet of Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. He became the interim prime minister on 2 September 1981 and was in office until 29 October 1981.[7] He was also chairman of provisional presidential council, after the assassination of president Mohammad Ali Rajai and prime minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar. He has also been a member of the Constitutional Amendment Council of Iran, appointed by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, to review and amend the Constitution of Iran in 1989. He was also elected as member of the assembly in 2008 in a by-election from Tehran.

Mahdavi Kani is the founder and former head of Imam Sadiq University in Tehran, a university specializing in humanities.[2]

He was elected as chairman of the Assembly of Experts on 8 March 2011 after Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani resigned from office.[8] In March 2013, he was reelected to the post for further two years.[8] [9]

Illness and death

Mahdavi Kani was hospitalized for a stroke on Ruhollah Khomeini's death anniversary, which brought him to coma on 4 June 2014.[10] He was in coma for more than five months[11] and died on 21 October 2014 at the age of 83.[10] Mahdavi Kani was survived by his three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Hours after Mahdavi Kani's death, his office announced that his state funeral will be held on 23 October and his body will be buried at Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine.[12] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also announced two days of mourning in his memorial.[13]

Works

The following works of Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani are published:[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.parsine.com/fa/news/275856/%D8%B9%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%BA-%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%88%D9%84%DA%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%AF-%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%88%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%86%DB%8C Advertise of the list of fundamentalists, on the stone grave of ayatollah mahdavi kani
  2. Book: Lorentz. John H.. The A to Z Guide Series. 2010. Scarecrow Press. 978-0810876385.
  3. Book: Hiro. Dilip. Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). 2013. Routledge. 978-0415669696.
  4. Web site: Shone. Alex. Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani: profile of the new chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts. Defence Viewpoints. 16 August 2013.
  5. Web site: Staff writer. Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani in the 15 parts of Islamic republic's history (Persian). IRNA. 25 September 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161203060353/http://www8.irna.ir/fa/News/81358777/. 3 December 2016.
  6. Web site: Law And Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Amnesty International. 3 August 2013. Report. 13 March 1980. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924033336/http://www.ihrv.org/inf/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/law_and_human_rights_in_the_islamic_republic_of_iran_february_through_september19791.pdf. 24 September 2015.
  7. Web site: Hosseini. Mir M.. Interim Government Formed. Fourman. 20 June 2013. 2 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202010136/http://fouman.com/Y/Get_Iranian_History_Today.php?artid=1287. dead.
  8. News: Iran's Assembly of Experts re-elects Mahdavi-Kani as chairman. 16 August 2013. Xinhua News Agency. 5 March 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180838/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/05/c_132210828.htm. 3 March 2016.
  9. News: Karami. Arash. Iran Mourns Passing of Hugo Chavez. https://archive.today/20130816133220/http://iranpulse.al-monitor.com/index.php/tag/ayatollah-mohammad-reza-mahdavi-kani/. dead. 16 August 2013. 16 August 2013. Al Monitor. 6 March 2013.
  10. Web site: Jedinia . Mehdi . 21 October 2014 . Iranian officials mourn powerful cleric . 21 October 2014 . al-monitor.
  11. Web site: Staff writer. Head of Assembly of Experts dies at 83. 21 October 2014 . Mehr News Agency. 21 October 2014.
  12. Web site: WINSOR. MORGAN. Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani Death: Iranian President Declares Two-Day Mourning After Leading Cleric Dies. International Business Times. 21 October 2014 . 21 October 2014.
  13. Web site: Staff Writer. President announced two days of mourning on Mahdavi Kani memorial. Tabnak. 21 October 2014.
  14. Web site: Staff Writer. Ayatollah Mohamad Reza Mahdavi Kani, a Brief Biography. Imam sadiq university. 14 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20181115233028/https://www.isu.ac.ir/page.aspx?ID=Biography-%20en. 15 November 2018. dead.