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Esfandiar Rahim Mashai

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Esfandiar Mashaei.jpg
Head of Non-Aligned Movement Secretariat
In office
1 December 2012 – 27 August 2013
Appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Akbar Torkan
Chief of Staff of the President of Iran
In office
25 July 2009 – 7 December 2012
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by Reza Sheykholeslam
Succeeded by Mir-Hassan Mousavi
Advisor to the President of Iran
In office
25 July 2009 – 3 August 2013
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Supervisor of Presidential Administration
In office
19 September 2009 – 9 April 2011
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by Ali Saeedlou
Succeeded by Hamid Baqai
First Vice President of Iran
In office
17 July 2009 – 25 July 2009
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by Parviz Davoodi
Succeeded by Mohammad-Reza Rahimi
Vice President of Iran
Head of Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization
In office
18 August 2005 – 17 July 2009
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by Hossein Marashi
Succeeded by Hamid Baqai
Personal details
Born (1960-11-16) 16 November 1960 (age 56)
Ramsar, Iran
Political party Sweet Scent of Service
Relatives Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (co-fathers-in-law)
Alma mater Isfahan University of Technology
Awards Order of Culture and Art.png Order of Culture and Art (1st Class)
Signature

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (Persian: اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی‎‎; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian politician. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he served as Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2013, and as the First Vice President of Iran for one week in 2009 until his resignation was ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A close ally of President Ahmadinejad, Mashaei was viewed by many Iranian clerics as an anti-establishment activist and secular-orientednationalist. He has been criticized by religious conservatives for alleged "deviant tendencies," such as elevating Iranian heritage and nationalism above Islam as well as for statements he has made criticizing the Assembly of Experts and the theocratic doctrine of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, and advocating for the clergy to remove themselves from the political establishment. He has also been called a pragmatic, moderate conservative with "liberal views on cultural and social issues."

On 11 May 2013, with the public support and endorsement of outgoing President Ahmadinejad, Mashaei announced that he would run for the presidency in the upcoming election. However, his application to run was disqualified by the Guardian Council, which must approve all potential candidates, as well as the final election results. Ahmadinejad protested the disqualification and referred to the Guardian Council's decision as an act of "oppression."

Mashaei was born on 16 November 1960 in Katalom, Ramsar. He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from Isfahan University of Technology.


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