Ahmad Tavakkoli (; born 5 March 1951) is an Iranian

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and principlist politician, journalist. He is currently member of the

Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( fa, مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام ''Majma'-e Taškhīs-e Maslahat-e Nezām'') is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Co ...

. Also he is currently managing-director of ''Alef'' news website and founder of the corruption watchdog, non-governmental organization ''Justice and Transparency Watch''. Tavakkoli is the former representative of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr electoral district in the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and the director of

Majlis Research Center The Research Center of Islamic legislative Assembly () is the research arm of the Iranian parliament (Majlis). This center works primarily and directly for members of the Iranian parliament, their committees and staff on a confidential, nonparti ...

Career

Tavakkoli was the minister of labour under

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh ( fa, میرحسین موسوی خامنه, Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the forty-ninth and last Prime Minister of Ira ...

, a parliament representative from

Behshahr Behshahr ( fa, بهشهر; formerly Ashraf and Ashraf ol Belād) is a city in Mazandaran, Iran & the capital of Behshahr County. Located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, at the foot of the Alborz, it is approximately from Sari. At the 2006 cen ...

, and a presidential candidate in two of the presidential elections in Iran (running against

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islam ...

and

Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...

). Tavakkoli temporarily left politics after the leftists oppositions forced him out of the ministry of labour. He founded '' Resalat'', a conservative newspaper, and later left Iran to study economics in the UK, where he received his PhD.

Views and personal life

Tavakkoli is a critic of a capitalist economy, and backs the government's role in controlling the economy. He is a cousin of the Larijani brothers, including

Ali Larijani Ali Ardeshir Larijani ( fa, علی لاریجانی, ; born 3 June 1957) is an Iranian conservative politician, philosopher and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran ...

and

Mohammad Javad Larijani Mohammad-Javad Ardeshir Larijani ( fa, محمدجواد لاریجانی; born ) is an Iranian conservative politician and former diplomat. He is currently a top adviser to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in foreign affairs and secretary of High Co ...

. Tavakkoli was also a fierce critic of

President Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

. On 2 March 2011, the PBS' Tehran Bureau reported that Tavakkoli criticized the then President for mentioning only Iran and not Islam in recent speeches.

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavakkoli, Ahmad 1951 births Living people Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr Government ministers of Iran Candidates for President of Iran Iranian prosecutors Candidates in the 2001 Iranian presidential election Spokespersons of the Government of Iran Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 7th Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 8th Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 9th Islamic Consultative Assembly Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran politicians Front of Transformationalist Principlists politicians Iranian anti-corruption activists Iranian news website owners (people) Islamic Republican Party politicians Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization politicians People from Behshahr