Hossein Marashi
| Hossein Marashi | |
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Marashi in August 2014
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Vice President of Iran Head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization |
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In office 4 May 2004 – 18 August 2005 |
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| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Beheshti |
| Succeeded by | Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 28 May 1996 – 4 May 2004 |
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| Constituency | Kerman |
| Majority | 141,781 (68.9%; 5th term) |
| Chief of Staff of the President of Iran | |
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In office July 1994 – 28 May 1996 |
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| President | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Governor of Kerman Province | |
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In office 3 November 1985 – July 1994 |
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| President |
Ali Khamenei Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Prime Minister | Mir-Hossein Mousavi |
| Preceded by | Hamid Mirzadeh |
| Succeeded by | Masoud Mohammadi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 November 1958 Rafsanjan, Iran |
| Political party | Executives of Construction |
| Religion | Islam |
Hossein Marashi (Persian: حسین مرعشی; born 17 November 1958 in Rafsanjan) is an Iranian politician. He served as the Iranian Vice President for Cultural Heritage and Tourism from 2003 to 2005. Prior to that, Marashi represented Kerman in the Iranian parliament. He strongly backed opposition candidate Mousavi in the 2009 Iranian election. Mr Marashi is also reportedly a close ally of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, another former president. He has been speaker of the Executives of Construction Party.
He was the head of the province of Kerman for nearly nine years. He founded a charity by the name of Kerman Molal-Movahedin Non-Profit Institute, which owns Mahan Air, an Iranian airline. In 2011, the charity was involved in a scandal when it was accused of buying airplanes on behalf of Mahan Air. The airline had been facing sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury for allegedly transporting weapons and advisors to troubled areas such as Syria and Yemen. The claim that firm had any connection with these political actives was denied by members of its board, and Marashi himself.
As the head of Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, Marashi increased the budget of the organization. However, some of Marashi's opponents believe that he was responsible for the disappearance of invaluable historical pieces, and the destruction of historical buildings. These opponents claim that despite public pressure, he never took any action to stop the destruction of historical artifacts. Marashi supported the construction of the controversial Sivand Dam in the territory of Pasargadae The dam was constructed in proximity to the ancient city, and experts believe that if the dam burst, it could destroy several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Wikipedia