Mohammad Ali Abtahi
| Mohammad-Ali Abtahi محمدعلی ابطحی |
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Vice President of Iran for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs |
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In office 2001–2004 |
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| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari |
| Succeeded by | Majid Ansari |
| Chief of Staff of the President of Iran | |
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In office 1997–2001 |
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| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Succeeded by | Ali Khatami |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 29, 1958 Mashhad, Iran |
| Political party | Association of Combatant Clerics |
| Alma mater |
Isfahan University (B.A. in Western Philosophy) University of Tehran (M.A. in education) |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | www |
Mohammad-Ali Abtahi (Persian: محمدعلی ابطحی; born January 27, 1958) is an Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. He is a former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former President Mohammad Khatami. Abtahi is a member of the central council of Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma'e Rowhaniyoon-e Mobarez), the political grouping to which both Khatami and the 2009 presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (the previous Speaker of Majlis of Iran) belong.
Abtahi served in various governmental posts, including the President of Iranian Radio, Vice Minister of International Affairs in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and IRIB's representative in Lebanon.
In 1997, President of Iran Mohammad Khatami chose Abtahi as his first chief of staff. Abtahi held the position from July 10, 1997 to September 1, 2001.
On September 2, 2001, Abtahi was elevated to the post of the Iranian Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. He was the first cabinet member in Iran to write a weblog or have an Orkut account during his membership in the cabinet. He resigned from his post three times after the Iranian Majlis election of 2004, because of "differences in political viewpoints with the parliament's majority", and finally, on October 12, 2004, his resignation was accepted by President Khatami. He was followed by Majid Ansari, a previous representative of Tehran to the Parliament and a fellow member of the Combatant Clerics Society party.
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