Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf ( fa, محمد باقر قالیباف, born 23 August 1961) 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 in ...
politician, former
military officer, and current
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the
Parliament of Iran
The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The Pa ...
since 2020. He held office as the
Mayor of Tehran
The Mayor of Tehran is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of 21 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Tehran. Since 2 September 2021, Alireza Zakani is the mayor of Tehran. Previously, the position was held b ...
from 2005 to 2017. Ghalibaf was formerly Iran's
Chief of police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
from 2000 to 2005 and commander of the
Revolutionary Guards' Air Force from 1997 to 2000.
He holds a Ph.D. in political geography from
Tarbiat Modares University
Tarbiat Modares University ( fa, دانشگاه تربیت مدرس: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modares'', lit. "Professor Training University") is an exclusively graduate university with its main campus in Tehran, Iran. It was founded in 1982 a ...
. He is also a pilot, certified to fly certain Airbus aircraft. He began his military career during the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
in 1980. He became chief commander of the Imam Reza Brigade in 1982 and was chief commander of Nasr Division from 1983 to 1984. After the end of the war, he became Managing-Director of
Khatam al-Anbia
Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarter (also spelled Khātam al-Anbiyā, fa, قرارگاه سازندگی خاتمالانبیا; ''Qârargâh-he Sazandegi-ye Xatam alânbia'', literally, "Seal of the Prophets") is an Iranian engineerin ...
, an engineering firm controlled by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
and was appointed as commander of the
IRGC Air Force in 1996 by
Ali Khamenei. Four years later, he became chief of the
Iranian Police Forces after the previous commander was dismissed following the
1999 student protests. He was also appointed as Representative of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Mohammad Khatami during a campaign to combat smuggling in 2002. In September 2005, he was elected as
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
's mayor by the
City Council of Tehran
The Islamic City Council of Tehran ( fa, شورای اسلامی شهر تهران) is the directly elected council that presides over the city of Tehran, elects the mayor of Tehran in a mayor–council government system, and budgets of the M ...
. He is also a professor at the
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 ...
.
Ghalibaf is often regarded a
perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
in the presidential elections. He was a candidate in the
2013 presidential election but lost to
Hassan Rouhani, in second place with 6,077,292 of the votes. He was also a candidate in the
2005 presidential election. He announced his run for a third time in the
2017 election. However, he withdrew on 15 May 2017 in favor of
Ebrahim Raisi
Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati ( fa, سید ابراهیم رئیسالساداتی; born 14 December 1960), commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi ( fa, ابراهیم رئیسی ), is an Iranian principlist politician, Muslim jurist, and the eight ...
's candidacy.
In the
2020 Iranian legislative election, the Principlists regained the majority in the legislature, and Ghalibaf was elected as the new Speaker of Iran Parliament.
Personal life
Ghalibaf was born on 23 August 1961 in
Torqabeh
Torqabeh ( fa, طرقبه, also Romanized as Ţorqabeh, Ţoroqbeh, and Torqebeh; also known as Targhobeh) is a city and capital of Torqabeh and Shandiz County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 13,158, in 3, ...
,
near
Mashhad, in the diverse
[ province of Razavi Khorasan to a ]Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
mother Kheirolnessa Boujmehrani and an ethnic Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
father Hossein Ghalibaf.
Ghalibaf married Zahra Sadat Moshir in 1982 when he was twenty two years old. Moshir (born 1968) joined her husband as an adviser and head of women's affairs in the Municipality of Tehran.
Education
Ghalibaf obtained bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...
in human geography
Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...
from Tehran University, master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
in human geography from 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 ...
and PhD in political geography from Tarbiat Modares University
Tarbiat Modares University ( fa, دانشگاه تربیت مدرس: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modares'', lit. "Professor Training University") is an exclusively graduate university with its main campus in Tehran, Iran. It was founded in 1982 a ...
.
Military career
At the age of 19, he was one of the commanders of the defense forces during the Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
. Shortly afterwards he was named commander of the Rasulollah division. By the time he was twenty-two, he was already commander of the Nasr Troops. 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 completed a master's degree in geopolitics. In 1998, when Mohsen Rezaei retired and Yahya Rahim Safavi
Yahya "Rahim" Safavi ( fa, یحیی (رحیم) صفوی, born 1952) is an Iranian military commander who served as the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Early life
Safavi was born in 1952 in the city of Isfahan, Iran.
C ...
took over as IRGC's new commander-in-chief, he was named Commander of .
Ghalibaf became one of the senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
(IRGC) in later years. In 1984, he was appointed head of the Khatam al-Anbia
Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarter (also spelled Khātam al-Anbiyā, fa, قرارگاه سازندگی خاتمالانبیا; ''Qârargâh-he Sazandegi-ye Xatam alânbia'', literally, "Seal of the Prophets") is an Iranian engineerin ...
Construction Headquarters, which is the engineering arm of the IRGC. Under his management, the headquarters launched a 165-kilometer railway connecting Mashhad to Sarakhs.
As commander of the Revolutionary Guards Air Force during the 1999 student protests, Ghalibaf was one of the 24 IRGC commanders who sent a threatening letter to the reformist president Mohammad Khatami stating that if the protests were allowed to continue, they would take matters into their own hands.
Police career
Following the 1999 protests, he was appointed as chief of the Iranian Police Forces by the Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...
, Ali Khamenei, to succeed General Hedayat Lotfian who was removed from his office during the violence. After becoming chief of police, Ghalibaf initiated some reforms in the forces, including dropping all lawsuits against newspapers, modernization of police equipment and the Police 110 project, which aimed to make the police more accessible to the general public.
On 5 April 2005, Ghalibaf submitted his resignation from the military positions (including the police forces) due to his intention to run for the presidency of Iran.
Mayor of Tehran
When Ghalibaf lost the 2005 election, he was proposed as Mayor of Tehran
The Mayor of Tehran is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of 21 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Tehran. Since 2 September 2021, Alireza Zakani is the mayor of Tehran. Previously, the position was held b ...
along with Mohammad Aliabadi
Mohammad Aliabadi ( fa, محمد علیآبادی; born 2 December 1956 in Arak) is former Vice President and Head of Physical Education Organization of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called P ...
and Mohammad-Ali Najafi
Mohammad-Ali Najafi ( fa, محمدعلی نجفی; born 13 January 1952) is an Iranian mathematician and reformist politician who was the Mayor of Tehran, serving in the post for eight months, until April 2018. He held cabinet portfolios during ...
. On 4 September 2005, he was elected as the next Mayor by the City Council of Tehran
The Islamic City Council of Tehran ( fa, شورای اسلامی شهر تهران) is the directly elected council that presides over the city of Tehran, elects the mayor of Tehran in a mayor–council government system, and budgets of the M ...
to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who left the office after being elected president. He received 8 out of 15 votes of the council. He was reelected for a second term on 2007 after receiving 12 votes with no opponent.
According to Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
, he has used his position as mayor "to foster a reputation as a politician who gets things done." Ghalibaf seek for reelection as Mayor of Tehran as the Conservative's choice in the 2013 local elections. His rivals were Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani
Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, محسن هاشمی رفسنجانی, born 24 October 1961) is an Iranian politician, academic and engineer who served as a member and was chairman of the City Council of Tehran from 2017 to 2021. He was the deputy ...
, Masoumeh Ebtekar
Masoumeh Ebtekar ( fa, معصومه ابتکار; born 21 September 1960) was the former Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, from August 9, 2017, to September 1, 2021. She previously headed Department of Environment from 1997 ...
, Ali Nikzad
Ali Nikzad ( fa, علی نیکزاد; born 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician and academic and a former cabinet minister.
Early life and education
Nikzad was born in 1961. He holds a bachelor's degree in urban development from the Uni ...
and Mohsen Mehralizadeh
Mohsen Mehralizadeh ( fa, محسن مهرعلیزاده; born September 30, 1956) is an Iranian reformist politician and former Governor of Isfahan Province.
He was a Vice President of Iran and the head of the National Sports Organization of Ira ...
. He was elected as Mayor for another term on 8 September 2013 after defeating Hashemi in a runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
with 51.6% of the votes.
Presidential campaigns
2005 presidential election
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. Ghalibaf came fourth in the election.][ He made a ]populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
appeal during the campaigns.
On 13 October 2008, he announced his support for dialogue with the United States as suggested by President (then presidential candidate) Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. According to Ghalibaf, "the world community, the Iranian society and the US society would benefit" from such talks.
2013 presidential election
Ghalibaf did not run for presidency in the elections in 2009. His adviser announced that he would take part in the presidential elections in June 2013 and he officially announced this on 16 July 2012.[ In his speech during the announcement of his candidacy, he said:
]“That's two things I still stand on and would seriously consider, first: the Constitution and second: respect the prisoners and detainees."
He also set ''Love and Sacrifice'' and '' Jihadi Change'' as his official slogans. His candidacy was approved by the Guardian Council on 21 May 2013 along with seven other candidates. He was one of the opponents of 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 ...
's candidacy and says it was better that Rafsanjani not enter the race, as he had served two terms before. He and two other candidates, Ali Akbar Velayati
Ali Akbar Velayati ( fa, علیاکبر ولایتی ; born 24 June 1945, Tehran) is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shah ...
and Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel
Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel ( fa, غلامعلی حداد عادل, born 9 May 1945) is an Iranian philosopher, conservative and principlist politician and former chairman of the Parliament. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Counci ...
, formed a coalition called "2+1". He was endorsed by former candidates, Alireza Ali Ahmadi
Alireza Ali Ahmadi (born 11 May 1959 in Isfahan) is an Iranian politician and former Minister of Education from 2008 to 2009. Before his appointment as Minister of Education, he was Chancellor of Payame Noor University. He was also proposed Mini ...
and Sadeq Vaeez Zadeh
Sadegh Vaez-Zadeh (born 10 April 1959) is an Iranian politician and professor. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Academic Life
He received the B.Sc. degree from the Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Ira ...
. 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 ...
, the current chairman of parliament, also supported Ghalibaf in the election.
According to the Guardian, his moderating streak as Tehran's mayor is evident throughout Ghalibaf's political efforts.[Iran election: why Tehran mayor's popularity may harm his chances]
Guardian. Retrieved on 25 October 2015. Ghalibaf received 6,077,292 votes (16.55%), putting him in second place behind winner Hassan Rouhani, who was elected as the new president. Hours after the announcement of the results, Ghalibaf published a statement congratulating Hassan Rouhani on his election as President of Iran
The president of Iran ( fa, رئیسجمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader.
The president ...
and conceding.
2017 presidential election
Electoral history
Party affiliation
Ghalibaf is regarded the spiritual leader behind Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran
Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran ( fa, جمعیت پیشرفت و عدالت ایران اسلامی, Jam'iyyat-e Pišraft-o 'Adālat-e Irân-e Eslâmi) is an Iranian Principlist political party closely associated with Mohammad Bagh ...
and Iranian Islamic Freedom Party. He is a member of the political alliance Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces
The Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (PFIRF; fa, جبهه مردمی نیروهای انقلاب اسلامی, Jebhe-ye Mardomi-ye Niruhā-ye Enqelāb-e Eslāmī) is a political organization in Iran, founded in late 2016 by ten figures ...
.
Controversies and scandals
Allegations of corruption
Yas Holding Company case
Ghalibaf has been accused of using his influence as a former IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
commander to cover up corruption scandals that took place in Tehran during his term as mayor. One such scandal, which took place in 2017, involved the Yas Holding Company, a company whose board is partially made up of IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
generals. The company was accused of embezzling an estimated 13 trillion tomans (US$3 billion) from Tehran Municipality for overpriced infrastructure projects built by construction companies linked to the IRGC during Ghalibaf's mayorship. In early 2022, a leaked audio recording was published by Radio Farda
Radio Farda ( fa, راديو فردا, lit=Radio Tomorrow, ''Radio Farda'') is the Iranian branch of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) external broadcast service for providing "factual, objective and profession ...
, which purported to show former IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari ( fa, محمدعلی جعفری, born 1 September 1957, also known as Aziz Jafari and Ali Jafari) is a former commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps from 2007 to 2019. He was appointed by S ...
and Brigadier General Sadegh Zolghadr-Nia discussing the Yas Holding Company case, mentioning Ghalibaf's efforts to cover up the scandal by using his connections to the IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
, by enlisting the support of Hossein Taeb
Hossein Taeb ( fa, حسین طائب) is an Iranian Shia cleric and senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official who was head of the IRGC's Intelligence Organization.
Biography
According to a biography from the "pro-government" Iran Stude ...
, the head of the IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
's Intelligence Organization.
"LayetteGate" and luxury apartments in Istanbul
In April 2022, photos were published on Twitter that showed Ghalibaf's wife, Zahra Sadat Moshirand, and members of Ghalibaf's family at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport
Imam Khomeini International Airport is the primary international airport of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, located southwest of Tehran, near the localities of Robat Karim and Eslamshahr and spread over an area of of land. Along with Mehr ...
, returning from a luxury shopping trip in Turkey with 20 pieces of luggage, which were said to be a layette A layette is a collection of clothing and accessories for a newborn child. The term "layette set" is commonly used in the United States to refer to sets of baby clothes. In the 1920s, expectant mothers or their friends and relatives frequently kn ...
for their newborn child. The scandal, dubbed ''LayetteGate'' or ''SismuniGate'' by Iranian Twitter users, led to calls for him to step down as speaker of Parliament, with critics accusing Ghalibaf of being out of touch for his family shopping overseas during an economic crisis, and hypocrisy, pointing to comments made during his 2017 presidential campaign, where he criticized a former minister for traveling to Italy to purchase baby clothes. The criticism of Ghalibaf's family escalated when further allegations were made by an Iranian journalist based in Turkey that Ghalibaf's wife, daughter and son-in-law had purchased two luxury apartments in Istanbul worth 400 billion rials (US$1.6 million).
Accolades
* World Mayor
World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
: 8th place (2008)
* Sustainable Transport Award: 2nd place (2011)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*Mohammad Bagher Ghalibad o
Ponishare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghalibaf, Mohammad Bagher
1961 births
Living people
Tarbiat Modares University alumni
People from Mashhad
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps brigadier generals
Mayors of Tehran
Candidates for President of Iran
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Iran–Iraq War
Iranian people of Kurdish descent
Iranian Kurdish politicians
Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran politicians
Iranian news website owners (people)
Populism in Iran
Spiritual leaders of political parties in Iran
Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces politicians
Chief commanders of Law Enforcement Force of Islamic Republic of Iran
Speakers of the Islamic Consultative Assembly