Larijani, Ali Ardashir (1958–)

views updated

Larijani, Ali Ardashir
(1958–)

A powerful Iranian politician, Ali Ardashir Larijani is head of the Supreme National Security Council and a key figure in Iran's nuclear program.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Larijani was born in 1958 in al-Najaf, Iraq, the son of a senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric from Iran, Ayatollah Mirza-Hashem Amoli. He also is the son-in-law of another senior cleric, Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, who was killed in a 1979 bombing attack. Larijani's brother, Sadegh Larijani, is also a cleric who currently sits on Iran's powerful Council of Guardians.

Ali Larijani obtained a B.S. in computer science from Sharif University of Technology, and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Western philosophy from Tehran University. During the 1980s he was an acting commander of the revolutionary guard corps. Larijani served as minister of culture and Islamic guidance under President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Thereafter, from 1994 to 2004, he was head of Iranian national television and radio. In May 2004, Supreme Leader Ayatollah ali khamenehi appointed Larijani as his adviser and one of his representatives to the Supreme National Security Council, and President mahmoud ahmadinejad appointed Larijani as the council's head in 2005 after Larijani's failed presidential bid.

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

As head of Iranian state television in the 1990s, Larijani began removing television shows he deemed objectionable on Islamic grounds, and broadcasting instead ones that he believed would instill Islamic values in Iranian citizens. In 2003, he set up two 24-hour television broadcasts in Arabic, which reportedly are popular in neighboring Iraq. As head of the Supreme National Security Council, he is one of the most powerful figures in Iran today. His power on the council stems from the fact that he is Khamenehi's adviser, and he is reportedly taking his orders directly from the ayatollah and not from President Ahmadinejad.

THE WORLD'S PERSPECTIVE

Larijani is known inside Iran and abroad as a conservative who has risen to power along with the wave that brought Ahmadinejad to the presidency, and already has become a powerful force within the government. The outside world's first true glimpse of Larijani has come by virtue of his acting as the chief negotiator and spokesman for Iran's nuclear program. While meeting with Western and United Nations (UN) officials (including head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, mohamed elbaradei), who expressed grave concern about Iran's intentions, Larijani steadfastly insisted that Iran has the right to develop nuclear power, and is allowed under the the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to enrich uranium.

LEGACY

It is too early to assess Larijani's legacy, but he remains a key conservative in the country who has been tasked with a major assignment, dealing with the West and the UN over Iran's ambitions to develop a nuclear program.