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Berkshire Imaging - Dr Naid Rahim berkshireimaging.co.uk | Associates | Sam Abdul-Rahim, M.D. fortworth2020.com | Rahim Shafa, M.D. - Curriculum Vitae - The NaltrexZone (TM) naltrexzone.com | Bissmillah Er Rahman Er Rahim sacredcircles.com |
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (Persian: اسفندیار رحیممشایی; born 1960 in Ramsar) is an Iranian politician. He is adviser to the Iranian President, and as head of the Presidential Office is the President's Chief of Staff.[1] He was for a short time First Vice President of Iran. His appointment on July 17, 2009, was heavily criticized and he resigned on July 24 following orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[2][3]
[edit] BackgroundMashaei studied electrical engineering and holds a bachelor's degree from Isfahan University of Technology. He was appointed on 31 December 2007 to run the newly founded National Center for Research on Globalization. [4] He is a former head of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, and previously served briefly as a deputy interior minister. His daughter is married to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's son.[5][6] [edit] ActivitiesIn 2007, Mashaei controversially attended a ceremony in Turkey where women performed a traditional dance. Conservative interpretations of Islam prohibit dancing by women.[5] In 2008 he hosted a ceremony in Tehran in which several women played tambourines while another carried the Koran to a podium to recite verses from the Muslim holy book. Hard-liners viewed the festive mood as disrespectful to the Koran.[5] Mashaei also made public statements which some considered pro-Israel,[7] when he said that Iranians are “friends of all people in the world - even Israelis,”[6] and that any conflict was with the Israeli Government only. In another occasion he said: "No nation in the world is our enemy, Iran is a friend of the nation in the United States and in Israel, and this is an honor."[8] He received criticisms from clerics, conservative members of the Iranian Parliament[9] and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who called the comments about Israelis "illogical".[5] However Mashaei has never retracted his comments,[10] and they even received some cautious backing from Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.[11] [edit] Promotion to First Vice PresidentOn 17 July 2009, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Mashaei would become the new First Vice President of Iran.[6][12] Iran has twelve vice presidents, but the First Vice President is the most important, as he leads Cabinet meetings if the president is absent.[5] The announcement triggered criticism from conservatives, including the Basij militia. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said the “completely unbelievable” appointment “ridicule[d] the highest religious authorities.” The Kayhan newspaper said it was a “mistake” that would “no doubt provoke strong opposition.”[6] The Union of Islamic Students stated "The news of your appointment by the legal president has plunged into deep surprise a large number of idealistic students who endured the widespread wave of defamation launched by opposition against Mr. Ahmadinejad and backed his candidacy," ... "While reaffirming our support for Mr. Ahmadinejad, the best choice for president, we believe that your immediate resignation from the post of first vice president would be the only way to serve fundamentalism," ... "You will be on the receiving end of the dire consequences of this appointment." Reformist lawmaker Dariush Ghanbari described the appointment as a "declaration of war" on parliament, because Ahmadinejad had earlier been asked to consult with the deputies before naming his Cabinet. Conservative Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said he was "shocked" to hear of the appointment.[13] The Pupils Assn. News Agency, an offshoot of the official Islamic Republic News Agency, reported on 19 July 2009 that Mashaei had resigned the post, but the government-controlled Al-Alam News Network later contradicted that report.[13] On 18 July 2009, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered Mashaei to resign from the cabinet.[2] Second Deputy Speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard was on 21 July quoted as saying "Eliminating Mashaei from key positions and the first deputy position is a strategic decision by the regime. The Supreme Leader’s opinion about the removal of Mr. Rahim Mashaei from the position of president’s first deputy has been submitted to the President in writing. Without any delay, the dismissal order or Mashaei’s resignation must be announced by the President." However, Ahmadinejad’s senior assistant was quoted as saying "I have not seen a clear and convincing reason given by anyone to make [Mashaei's] appointment to the first deputy position impossible. Some say he has made mistakes in some of his statements. Well, everyone makes mistakes." He said "The decision to appoint Mashaei will not be revisited," although he later retracted that position.[14][15][16] Ministers including Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi stormed out of a Cabinet meeting during an argument with Ahmedinejad over Mashaei's appointment.[17] On 22 July, Ahmedinejad spoke affirmatively at a farewell function for Mashaei as he resigned from his position as tourism vice president to take up his new post. "I like Rahim Mashaei for 1,000 reasons. One of the biggest honours of my life and one of the biggest favours from God to me is knowing Rahim Mashaei." ... "He is like a pure source of water. One of the reasons to like him is that when you sit with him and talk, there is no distance with him. He is like a transparent mirror. Unfortunately not many people know him."[18] By 24 July this position had become politically unsustainable. Mashaei resigned from the office of vice president, in compliance with the orders of Supreme Leader Khamenei.[2][3] Some analysts have said hard-liners opposed Mashaei because of his comments about Israel. Others suggest he is a member of a secretive sect, the Hojjatieh, which the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, outlawed, and to which Ahmedinejad has also been linked.[17] It is unclear whether there is any factual basis to these suggestions. Dubious rumors of unusual religious affiliations have been known to surface in Iran concerning people with whom the regime is disaffected.[19] It has been suggested that by demanding Mashaei's removal, Khamenei effectively appropriated a new power, since normally the Supreme Leader does not intervene openly to oust a government official.[20] However, Article 131 of the Constitution provides that First Vice President takes over as acting President in cases where the President is incapacitated only if permitted by the Supreme Leader. [edit] Appointment as chief of staffFollowing Mashaei's resignation, Ahmedinejad appointed him as his chief of staff, abruptly dismissed from the cabinet Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i who had opposed the vice-presidential appointment, and threatened to dismiss Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi. Harandi resigned before he could be dismissed.[17][21] [edit] Quotes
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