Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Sunday, January 27, 2008

An Iranian name to remember

The mayor of Tehran showed up at the Davos economic summit. That seems out of character. But the name Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf is probably one we should remember.

In terms of political recruitment, what in his biography was crucial in getting him to a position of leadership?

Tehran’s Mayor Speaks of Making Iran Less Isolated

"DAVOS, Switzerland — The annual economic gathering here not only attracts those with power in business and politics but also offers a springboard for those who wish to wield it.

"Among the contenders in attendance this year is Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, the 46-year-old mayor of Tehran who is being urged by some to run for the presidency of Iran next year as an 'authoritarian modernizer.'

"Mr. Ghalibaf, who ran for president in 2005 and comes from the hard-line Islamic Revolution tradition, was once a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards. But he is also part of an emerging group of politicians who consider President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be harming the country’s economy through his acerbic anti-Western speeches and isolationist policies...

"According to his official biography, Mr. Ghalibaf fought in the Iran-Iraq war for eight years and became a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards. The biography also describes him as an airplane pilot, a former presidential contender and an academic. He denied in the interview that he was a 'military man.'..."

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