Masoud Pezeshkian Sworn in as President of Iran: Here's the list of all the Presidents of Iran Through the Years

The Islamic republic of Iran set up in 1980, and since then, many presidents have sworn in. The position of the President of Iran holds great power, as it is the highest popularly elected official in Iran.

Recently, on 19 May 2024, Ebrahim Raisi, the most recent president of Iran passed away in a tragic helicopter crash. Raisi was the eighth president of Iran. The demise of Raisi left the position of the President of Iran vacant. 

At present, Masoud Pezeshkian serves as the President of Iran.

A bit about Iran; its history, constitution, and presidents

The Iranian revolution of the year 1979 and the referendum for the creation of the Islamic Republic led the new government of Iran to bring about a new constitution.

An election for the Assembly of Experts was ordered by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This body of experts was instructed with writing the constitution. It was on October 24, 1979 that the constitution was presented by the assembly. Next, Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, and Mehdi Bazargan, the Prime Minister of Iran approved it.

As per the constitution of the year 1979, the supreme leader was designated as the head of the state. Also, the Prime Minister and the President were designated as the heads of government. After the 1989 referendum, the position of the prime minister was abolished in the country.

The first president and the presidential election

It was on January 25, 1980 that the very first Iranian presidential election was held in Iran. This election led to the election of Abolhassan Banisadr as the first president with 76 percent of votes. 

On June 22, 1981, Banisadr was impeached by the Parliament. Until the election on July 24, 1981, it was the Provisional Presidential Council that took the duties of the President.

Next, it was Mohammad-Ali Rajai who was elected as the next president of Iran on July 24, 1981. The president took office on August 2. The president remained in office for less than a month. It was on August 30, 1981 that both the president and the prime minister got assassinated. The result? The Provisional Presidential council took the duties until the new president, Ali Khamenei got elected on October 13, 1981.

Finally, the demise of Ebrahim Raisi

Considered as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi passed away recently when his helicopter crashed in mountains in poor weather near the Azerbaijan border. It was after an overnight search of the helicopter in blizzard conditions, the charred wreckage of the vehicle was found carrying Raisi and six other passengers on Monday.

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