Iran: Profile and Statements of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

On June 24, 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency of Iran, in a run-off against the former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, where he also became the first non-cleric president in 24 years. This report covers his background his victory over a well-known former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his confrontational remarks about the West including Israel. For further information and analysis on Ahmadinejad, Iran, and U.S. options, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses, by Kenneth Katzman. This report will be updated as warranted. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pronounced mah-MOOD ah-mah-dihnee- ZHAHD was born in 1956 in the town of Garmsar, southeast of Tehran. The fourth son of seven children of an ironworker, he and his family moved to Tehran for better economic opportunity. Their move to Tehran coincided with the change of his family name. His familys original name was Saborjhian. According to some, the family name change provides an insight into the devoutly Islamic working-class roots of Mr. Ahmadinejad s brand of populist politics. His solidarity with the most downtrodden is also believed to have been influenced by his father, Ahmad, who, after running a grocery store and then a barber shop in Aradan, became a blacksmith in Tehran. Ahmadinejad holds a Ph.D. in traffic and transport engineering from Tehran University of Science and Technology. He later became a lecturer at the university. He joined the revolutionary guards in 1986 after volunteering to serve in the war with Iraq.