Here’s a look at the life of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Personal:
Birth date: November 12, 1948
Birth place: Sorkheh, Iran
Birth name: Hassan Feridon
Marriage: Sahebeh Arabi
Children: Has four children
Education: University of Tehran, B. A., 1972; Glasgow Caledonian University, M. Phil., 1995; Glasgow Caledonian University, Ph.D., 1999
Religion: Shiite Muslim
Other Facts:
Rouhani is a cleric. His religious title is Hojatoleslam, which is a middle rank in the religious hierarchy.
Arrested many times in the 1960s and 1970s as a follower of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Iranian media refers to Rouhani as the “diplomat sheik.”
Timeline:
1960 – Begins his religious studies at a seminary in Semnan province.
1977 – Under the threat of arrest, leaves Iran and joins Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in exile in France.
1980-2000 – After the overthrow of the Shah, Rouhani serves five terms in the National Assembly.
1983-1988 – Member of the Supreme Defense Council.
1985-1991 – Commander of the Iranian air defenses.
1988-1989 – Deputy commander of Iran’s Armed Forces.
1989-1997 – National security adviser to the president.
1989-2005 – Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
1989-present – Represents Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
1991-present – Member of the country’s Expediency Council.
1992-2013 – President of the Center for Strategic Research.
1999-present – Member of the Council of Experts, the group that chooses the Supreme Leader.
2000-2005 – National security adviser to the president.
2003-2005 – Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
June 14, 2013 – Wins the presidential election after securing more than 50% of the vote.
August 4, 2013 – Rouhani is sworn in as the seventh president of Iran.
September 19, 2013 – Writes a column in The Washington Post and calls for engagement and “a constructive approach” to issues such as Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
September 25, 2013 – In stark contrast to his predecessor, Rouhani condemns the actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust.
September 27, 2013 – Speaks with President Barack Obama by telephone, the first direct conversation between leaders of Iran and the United States since 1979.
July 14, 2015 – After negotiators strike a nuclear deal in Vienna, Rouhani touts the benefits of the agreement on Iranian television, declaring, “Our prayers have come true.” The deal calls for restrictions on uranium enrichment and research in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
September 28, 2015 – Rouhani addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations, stating “A new chapter has started in Iran’s relations with the world.” However, he also says that America and Israel are partially responsible for the increase in global terrorism, “If we did not have the US military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the United States’ unwarranted support for the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the oppressed nation of Palestine, today the terrorists would not have an excuse for the justification of their crimes.”
September 22, 2016 – Speaking to global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Rouhani accuses the United States of “a lack of compliance” with the nuclear deal agreed between Tehran and world powers in July 2015. Rouhani also attacks the United States for what he describes as “illegal actions,” referring to the US Supreme Court decision in April 2016 to allow US victims of terror to claim nearly $2 billion in compensation from Iran’s central bank.
May 20, 2017 – Rouhani wins re-election after securing approximately 57% of the vote.
September 20, 2017 – In a press conference following US President Donald Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly calling the nuclear deal with Iran an embarrassment to the United States, Rouhani calls for an apology to the people of Iran for the “offensive” comments and “baseless” accusations, including Trump’s assertion that the “Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy.”