A luminary of reformist reputation and a determine of Azerbaijani and Kurdish lineage, the 69-year-old Iran President-elect Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian has traversed a various profession encompassing medication, academia, and the political realm.
Securing the mantle of management, Dr. Pezeshkian has ascended as a reformist beacon, vowing to mood hijab mandates and fostering amiable relations with the West. His triumph marks a serendipitous third try. Within the 2013 presidential race, he withdrew; in 2021, he was thwarted. But, within the impromptu election prompted by the premature demise of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter mishap this Could, Dr. Pezeshkian clinched 16.3 million votes within the remaining tally, surpassing his hardline adversary Saeed Jalili, who garnered 13.5 million votes.
Early Life and Profession
Born on September 29, 1954, in Mahabad, Iran, to an Azerbaijani father and Kurdish mom, Dr. Pezeshkian pursued an agricultural diploma in Urmia. In 1973, he fulfilled his conscription in Zabol, close to Afghanistan.
His intrigue in medication sparked throughout his service. Submit-service, he enrolled in medical faculty in his native province, incomes a common medication diploma. All through the Iran-Iraq Warfare (1980–1988), Dr. Pezeshkian often attended entrance strains, dispatching medical groups and serving as each a combatant and doctor. He accomplished his common practitioner coaching in 1985 and started instructing physiology at a medical school.
Submit-war, he specialised basically surgical procedure at Tabriz College of Medical Sciences, later attaining a cardiac surgical procedure subspecialty from Iran College of Medical Sciences in 1993. By 1994, he was the president of Tabriz College of Medical Sciences, a submit he held for 5 years.
Entry into Politics
Submit-imperial rule, Iranian college politics, significantly at Tabriz College, had been dominated by leftists. Amidst an anti-capitalist and anti-bourgeois ambiance, college students aligned with financial leftism. Non secular college students confronted public prayer restrictions, and leftist teams managed scholar organizations.
On this milieu, Dr. Pezeshkian commenced his political odyssey at Tabriz College. He carried out Quran and Nahj al-Balaghah lessons, rallying Muslim college students. His political journey formally started in 1997 when he joined President Mohammad Khatami’s administration as Deputy Well being Minister. In 2001, he turned Well being Minister, serving till 2005. Since then, he has represented Tabriz, Osku, and Azarshahr within the Iranian parliament, serving as First Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2020.
Reformist Picture
Though supportive of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Dr. Pezeshkian has repeatedly critiqued Iran’s system. In the course of the 2009 election protests, he decried the therapy of demonstrators, insisting individuals deserved humane therapy.
In 2018, amid financial justice protests, he condemned the authorities’ ways as “scientifically and intellectually flawed.” Following Mahsa Amini’s dying in police custody in 2022, he advocated for an investigation workforce. A father of three, Dr. Pezeshkian vocally opposes necessary hijab legal guidelines and parliamentary payments imposing Islamic costume codes. He staunchly defended the 2015 Iran nuclear deal brokered by fellow reformist Hassan Rouhani.
Among the many six candidates vetted by Iran’s Guardian Council for this yr’s snap presidential election, Dr. Pezeshkian was the only real reformist. In debates, he advocated for home and overseas coverage reforms, diplomatic engagement with the West, and financial and cultural rejuvenation. His candidacy was bolstered by former reformist politicians and ministers, together with ex-International Minister Javad Zarif.
Nevertheless, Iran’s reforms should navigate spiritual constraints. Authorities allow conservative political discourse, necessitating Dr. Pezeshkian to stick to minimal reformist targets. Notably, he is not the primary reformist president; Khatami and Rouhani, underneath whom he served, had been additionally reformists.
R. Dayakar, a former Indian Ambassador, asserts Dr. Pezeshkian’s election displays Iran’s reformist sentiment. Nevertheless, reforms in Iran usually denote progressive social and cultural shifts moderately than political ones. Entrenched conservatives resist reformist strides, necessitating cautious calibration from Dr. Pezeshkian.
In the end, Iran’s President units the coverage tone, however Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wields final authority.
India-Iran Relations Underneath Dr. Pezeshkian
Dayakar posits Dr. Pezeshkian’s presidency will positively affect India-Iran relations. His reformist status could mitigate Western antagonism in direction of Iran, benefiting Indo-Iranian ties. Regardless of presidential modifications, India and Iran share enduring civilizational hyperlinks.