MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Iran
Index
The Constitution stipulates that the president is "the holder
of the highest official power next to the office of faqih."
In effect, the president is the head of state of the Islamic
Republic. Articles 113 to 132 of the Constitution pertain to the
qualifications, powers, and responsibilities of the president. The
president is elected for a four- year term on the basis of an
absolute majority vote of the national electorate and may be
reelected for one additional term. The president must be a Shia
Muslim and a man "of political and religious distinction." He is
empowered to choose the prime minister, approve the nominations of
ministers, sign laws into force, and veto decrees issued by the
Council of Ministers, or cabinet.
Elected in January 1980, Abolhasan Bani Sadr was Iran's first
president under the Constitution of 1979. His tenure of office was
marked by intense rivalry with the IRP-dominated Majlis. Within one
year of his election, relations between the president and his
opponents in the Majlis had deteriorated so severely that the
Majlis initiated impeachment proceedings against Bani Sadr. In June
1981, a majority of Majlis deputies voted that Bani Sadr had been
negligent in his duties and requested that Khomeini dismiss him
from office as specified under the Constitution.
Iran's second president, Mohammad Ali Rajai, was elected in
July 1981 but served only a brief term before being assassinated in
a bombing at the prime minister's office on August 30, 1981. The
third president, Hojjatoleslam Ali Khamenehi, was elected in
October 1981 and re- elected to a second term in 1985. During his
tenure, relations between the presidency and the Majlis have been
relatively cooperative. Not only was Khamenehi an important
religious figure but he also was secretary general of the IRP until
its dissolution in 1987.
Data as of December 1987
|
|