Hassan Ebrahim Habibi ( fa, حسن حبیبی; 29 January 1937 – 31 January 2013) was an Iranian politician, lawyer, scholar and the first
first vice president from 1989 until 2001 under Presidents
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 Islami ...
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 ...
. He was also a member of the
High Council of Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution (1980–1983; fa, انقلاب فرهنگی: Enqelābe Farhangi) was a period following the Iranian Revolution, when the academia of Iran was purged of Western and non-Islamic influences (including traditionalist unpoli ...
and head of
Academy of Persian Language and Literature
The Academy of Persian Language and Literature (APLL) ( fa, فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی, ''Farhangestân-e Zabân-o Adab-e Fârsi'') is the regulatory body for the Persian language, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. Formerly know ...
from 2004 until his death in 2013.
Early life and education
Habibi was born on 29 January 1937. He studied sociology in France.
He held a PhD in law and sociology. When he was a university student he visited
Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
while the latter was in exile.
Career
Habibi was tasked by
Ayatollah Khomenei
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
to draft the prospective constitution of Iran when the latter was in exile in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. His version was heavily modified due to criticisms and the final text was approved by the election in November 1979.
[
Following the Iranian revolution, Habibi was named public spokesman for the revolutionary council.] He was among the main architects of the first draft of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was December 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum, adopted by referendum on 2 ...
, which was later passed for more discussion to an elected Assembly of Experts for Constitution
The Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution (AFRC; fa, مجلس بررسی نهایی قانون اساسی) also known as the Assembly of Experts for Constitution ( fa, مجلس خبرگان قانون اساسی), was a constituent a ...
. The assembly made significant changes in the original draft, e.g. by introducing the new position of "leader of the Islamic Republic" based on Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
's concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists
The Guardianship or Governance/''Wilāyat'' of/by an Islamic Jurist/''Faqīh'' ( fa, , Velâyat-e Faqih; ar, وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, Wilāyat al-Faqīh), is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the re ...
, which gave almost unlimited power to the clergy. The modified version was approved in a popular referendum in 1979. In the 1980 presidential election, Habibi run for office, but received only ten percent of the vote against Banisadr's seventy percent. Habibi was backed by Mohammad Beheshti
Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti ( fa, سیّد محمد حسینی بهشتی; 24 October 1928 – 28 June 1981) was an Iranian jurist, philosopher, cleric and politician who was known as the second person in the political hierarchy of Iran after t ...
in the election process.[ In the same year he won a parliamentary seat, being a representative of the Islamic Republican Party.
Habibi served as the minister of justice under Prime Minister Mousavi. He was first vice president of Iran from 1989 to 2001, eight years under President Rafsanjani and then four years under ]President 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 ...
. He was replaced by Mohammad Reza Aref
Mohammad Reza Aref ( fa, محمدرضا عارف, born 19 December 1951) is an Iranian engineer, academic and reformist politician who was the parliamentary leader of reformists' Hope fraction in the Iranian Parliament, representing Tehran, Rey, S ...
in the post in Khatami's second term. He was also head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature and a member of the Expediency Council.[
]
Death
Habibi died on 31 January 2013. He was buried at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in Tehran on 1 February. The funeral service was attended by leading Iranian political figures, including President Ahmedinejad.[
]
Work
Habibi is the author of several books, including ''God'' (1981), ''Society, Culture, Politics'' (1984), ''Islam and the Crisis of Our Time'' (1984), ''In the Mirror Of Rights: Views Of International Rights, Comparative Rights And Sociology'' (1988), ''Seeking the Roots'' (editing & translation) (1994), ''Casework of An Ages Student'' (1997), ''One Word Out Of Thousands'' (2 vol.) (1998-2001) and ''General International Rights'' (2 vol.) (2003).
Political affiliation
Habibi was director of the National Front publications in Europe during the 1960s. In the capacity, he was involved in publication and distribution of ''Payam-e-Daneshjou'', organ of the party's student wing.
Habibi was a member of the Freedom Movement of Iran
The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; fa, نهضت آزادی ايران, Nahżat-e āzādi-e Irān) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslim ...
, before he defected to the Islamic Republican Party
The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; fa, حزب جمهوری اسلامی, Ḥezb-e Jomhūrī-e Eslāmī, also translated Islamic Republic Party) formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini establish theocracy in Iran. ...
after the Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habibi, Hassan
1937 births
2013 deaths
Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
First vice presidents of Iran
Government ministers of Iran
Freedom Movement of Iran MPs
Executives of Construction Party politicians
Members of the Expediency Discernment Council
Candidates in the 1980 Iranian presidential election
Members of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature
People of the Iranian Revolution
Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly
Recipients of the Order of Knowledge
Islamic Republican Party politicians
Spokespersons of the Government of Iran
Members of the Guardian Council
Ministers of Justice of Iran
National Front (Iran) student activists
Iranian politicians who have crossed the floor
Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame recipients in Humanities
Politicians from Tehran
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