Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
57th Mayor of Tehran
Incumbent
Assumed office  September 17, 2005
Preceded by	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Born	August 23, 1961 (1961-08-23) (age 48) Torghabeh, Mashhad, Iran
Political party	Islamic Society of Engineers
Spouse(s)	Zahra Mashir
Alma mater	Tarbiat Modares University
Religion	Usuli Twelver Shia Islam
Website	[1]
Military service
Allegiance	AGIR
Years of service	1981–2005
Commands	Nasr Troops Deputy Commander of the Resistance Force and Basij Troops Commander of AFAGIR Chief of the Police Forces of the IRI
Battles/wars	Iran–Iraq War

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (Persian: محمدباقر قالیباف, born August 23, 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad^[1]) is the current Mayor of Tehran, Iran.

Contents 1 Early life and military career 2 Police career 3 Presidential campaign 4 Mayor of Tehran 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life and military career

Ghalibaf was born to a Khorasani Kurdish father and a Persian mother.^[2] At the age of nineteen, he was one of the commanders of the defense forces during the Iran–Iraq War. Shortly afterwards he was named commander of the Rasulollah (the messenger of God) division (one of the most successful divisions in that war). By the time he was twenty-two, he was already commander of the Nasr Troops—a position that in the West would be lead by a Major General at the least. After the war he was selected as Deputy Commander of the Resistance Force and Basij Troops under General Afshar. Ghalibaf received the degree of Major General in 1996 after he had successfully completed a master of arts degree in Geopolitics. In 1998, when Commanding General Rezaie (head of the AGIR/IRGC) retired and Commanding General Safavi took over, he was named Commander of AFAGIR (Air Force of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution). Ghalibaf is quoted as saying, "On that night I went home and told my family about my new position. My son laughed and said so they have named someone who can't even fly, as Commander of an Air Force. I told him don't bother, I'll soon fly Jumbo Jets, and now I am a co-pilot of Jumbos." In 2001, he received a Ph.D. in Geopolitics from Tarbiat Modares University.

[edit] Police career

Ghalibaf was selected by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, to succeed General Hedayat Lotfian as Chief of the Police Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Iran student protests in July 1999.

After becoming Iran's chief of police, Ghalibaf initiated some reforms in the forces, including the Police 110 project whose goal was to make the police more accessible to the general public. He was also successful in handling the student protests in 2003 with his deputy Morteza Talaei, Chief of the Police Forces of Tehran, and helped end the protests without any fatalities or serious damages. In addition, he served as the special representative of President of Iran at the time, Mohammad Khatami, on the Anti-Traffic Committee.

On April 5, 2005, Ghalibaf submitted his resignation from the military positions (including the Police Forces) due to his intention to run for the presidency of Iran; his resignation was approved by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

[edit] Presidential campaign

Ghalibaf was a candidate in the Iranian presidential election of 2005, and was being considered to be supported by some factions of the conservative alliance because of his popularity with both wings. However, in the final days before the election, the major support went to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It has also been reported that Ghalibaf has claimed in a private party that he has the support of Ali Khamenei for the presidential office. However, Khamenei has previously mentioned that nobody knows his vote.

[edit] Mayor of Tehran

On September, 2005, Ghalibaf was elected by the Tehran City Council to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the 57^th Mayor of Tehran with 8 out of 15 votes of the council. Along with Gholamhossein Karbaschi, he has been referred to as one of the most successful mayors of Tehran, although he is hardly supported by the administration of President Ahmadinejad.^{[citation needed]} He was also longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.

On October 13, 2008, he announced his support for dialogue with the United States as suggested by President (then presidential candidate) Barack Obama. According to Ghalibaf, "I think the world community, the Iranian society and the US society would benefit" from such talks.^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• "FT Interview: Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf". Financial Times. January 8, 2008. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57d045fa-b9ff-11dc-abcb-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1. 
• Siamdoust, Nahid (March 18, 2008). "A Rival for Iran's Ahmadinejad". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723250,00.html. 
• Stockman, Farah (December 22, 2008). "Iran election raises hope for change". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/12/22/iran_election_raises_hope_for_change/. 
• Aspden, Rachel (January 8, 2009). "Conservative in a leather jacket". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2009/01/qalibaf-mayor-iran-ahmadinejad.