Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, مهدی هاشمی رفسنجانی; born 20 September 1969) is an Iranian businessman and the fourth child of

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 ...

, former president of Iran. He is known as an Iranian "'' Aghazadeh''".

Early life and education

Rafsanjani was born on 20 September 1969 in Tehran. He attended elementary, junior and high school at the Nikan High School, graduating in 1987. He was accepted at

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

where he majored in telecommunication, obtaining his bachelor's degree in 1992. He earned a master's degree from

Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT; fa, دانشگاه صنعتی شریف) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is widely considered as the nation's most prestigious and leading institution for science, technology, engineering, ...

in the energy engineering field, and worked on a PhD in the energy engineering field at

Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; fa, دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی, ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleg ...

. In October 2010, he began studying for a PhD at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and ...

in oriental studies with a focus on the Iranian constitution.

Trial

In 2007 authorities in France arrested the CEO and other officers of the giant

oil company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (of ...

Total S.A. TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and ...

on charges that Total had bribed Iranian officials. From 1997 to 2003, Total paid out €60,000,000 ($80,000,000) for a favorable contract in the PSEEZ off-shore natural gas field. Much of this money was allegedly paid into

bank accounts A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of ...

controlled by Mehdi Rafsanjani, then head of the

state-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

Gaz Iran. Rafsanjani denied this allegation, and threatened the newspapers which reported it with prosecution. Rafsanjani returned to Iran from exile to answer charges of inciting unrest after a disputed election in 2009, fuelling speculation that Rafsanjani's influence in Tehran may once again be growing. In September 2012, he was arrested on a whole raft of charges and released in December 2012.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafsanjani, Mehdi Hashemi 1969 births Living people Alumni of Wolfson College, Oxford Islamic Azad University alumni Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Iranian white-collar criminals Children of national leaders Iranian campaign managers