Mohammad Nahavandian

Mohammad Nahavandian (Persian: ‌محمد نهاوندیان‎, born 2 February 1954) is an Iranian politician and economist who currently serves as the Vice President for Economic Affairs.[1] He was formerly Chief of Staff of the President of Iran, serving from 2013 until 2017.

Mohammad Nahavandian
Vice President of Iran for Economic Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 August 2017
President	Hassan Rouhani
Preceded by	Position reestablished
Chief of Staff of the President of Iran
In office 4 August 2013 – 20 August 2017
President	Hassan Rouhani
Deputy	Morteza Bank
Preceded by	Mir-Hassan Mousavi Hamid Baghaei
Succeeded by	Mahmoud Vaezi
Personal details
Born	6 February 1954 Tehran, Iran
Political party	Islamic Coalition Party
Alma mater	Alavi Institute Qom Hawza University of Tehran George Washington University
Profession	Politician, Economist
Signature
Website	Official website

He is described as a "moderate, religious-minded veteran technocrat" with strong ties to the traditional bazaari class.[2] He was reportedly on friendly terms with late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as well as Ali Larijani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[3][4]

Early life and education

Nahavandian is the son of Jafar Nahavandian, a famous Iranian religious figure and founder of Hossienieh Zanjaniha (lit. 'Hussainiya of Zanjanis').[5] He was born in 1954 in Tehran. He graduated from Alavi Institute in the early 1970s[5] and started to study in Hawza. with a degree in economics and then moved to United States for education at George Washington University. He left the United States and returned to Iran before Iranian Revolution. He was one of the closest people to Morteza Motahari and Mohammad Javad Bahonar. He then founded Economic Council of Iran in 1980 but returned to the United States to continue his education. He received his Ph.D in economics in 1989 and founded Islamic Cooperation of the Americans. He returned to Iran after eight years in 1994.[6]

Career

Nahavandian became deputy minister of commerce in 1981, having been appointed by Yahya Ale Eshaq and served in the capacity until 1983.[2] Nahavandian was againg appointed to the same office in 1993,[2] and served until 2002, when he resigned from office to become Economic adviser to the President Mohammad Khatami.[7] He also became head of economic programs at IRIB in the same year. After Ali Larijani was appointed as the Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, he named Nahavandian as his deputy in economic affairs.[2] He was also choice of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the head of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) in 2006 but he rejected it to continue his career at the Security Council.[2]

In December 2007, he was elected as the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce Industries and Mines.[2] After resignation of long time president of the chamber Mohammad Reza Behzadian, Nahavandian was elected as his successor with 165 votes from representatives of cities and organizations and becomes president of the chamber.[8] He was one of the campaign members of Ali Akbar Velayati during 2013 presidential election but after the election of Hassan Rouhani, he was named as his economic adviser and head of economic commission for the transition affairs. It was reported that Nahavandian will become chief of staff of the president after the inauguration of Rouhani. After Rouhani took office as the President of Iran, he officially appointed Nahavandian for the position.[2]

Works

• “New Horizons in Trade Policy-Making”, Commerce Publishing Co., Tehran, 2002
• “Tobacco Conflict, Study of Iran-British Economic Relations in 19th Century”, Fajr Publications, Tehran, 1978[9]

References

1. "Rouhani names close aides", Tehran Times, 20 August 2017, retrieved 21 August 2017
2. Reza H. Akbari (5 August 2013), "Rouhani's US-Educated Chief of Staff Knows East and West", Al-Monitor, retrieved 27 August 2017
3. "Iran: The Private Sector Struggles to Emerge from the State's Shadow", EurasiaNet, 27 February 2007, retrieved 21 August 2017
4. Hamid Farokhnia (23 February 2011), "The Pseudo-Parliament of Iran's Private Sector", Tehran Bureau, PBS, retrieved 21 August 2017
5. "Rouhani's Taciturn Chief of Staff May Finally Come into the Spotlight", Iranian Diplomacy, 3 July 2017, retrieved 11 September 2017 – via Shargh newspaper
6. بازگشت محمد نهاوندیان از نیویورک به تهران - روزنامه شرق
7. "Mohammad Nahavandian, Iran Chamber of Commerce President". Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
8. کليد اتاق ايران به نهاونديان رسيد
9. Publications of Nahavandian