Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani ( fa, محمدرضا مهدوی کنی, 6 August 1931 – 21 October 2014) was an Iranian Shia cleric, writer and conservative and

principlist Principlism is an applied ethics approach to the examination of moral dilemmas that is based upon the application of certain ethical principles. This approach to ethical decision-making has been adopted enthusiastically in many different professio ...

politician who was Acting

Prime Minister of Iran The Prime Minister of Iran was a political post that had existed in Iran (Persia) during much of the 20th century. It began in 1906 during the Qajar dynasty and into the start of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1923 and into the 1979 Iranian Revolution ...

from 2 September until 29 October 1981. Before that, he was

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

in the cabinets of

Mohammad-Ali Rajai Mohammad-Ali Rajai ( fa, محمدعلی رجائی; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was the second president of Iran from 2 to 30 August 1981 after serving as prime minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also minister of foreign affairs fro ...

and

Mohammad-Javad Bahonar Mohammad-Javad Bahonar ( fa, محمدجواد باهنر, 5 September 1933 – 30 August 1981) was a Shia Iranian theologian and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Iran for less than one month in August 1981. Bahonar and other member ...

. He was the leader of Combatant Clergy Association and

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Assembly of Experts and also founder and president of

Imam Sadiq University The Imam Sadiq University is an Islamic private university in Tehran, Iran. Established in 1982, the goal of the university is to bridge the gap between Islamic researches and modern studies, especially humanities. Imam Sadiq was established on ...

. On 4 June 2014, Mahdavi Kani was hospitalized in Bahman Hospital and went into a coma after suffering a heart attack. He died on 21 October 2014.

Early life

Mahdavi Kani was born on 6 August 1931 in the village of Kan, near Tehran. His father was an Ayatollah and taught in the Mofid School. After he finished basic education in Kan, he studied at Borhan High School in Tehran. He left for

Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

in 1947 to study at a religious seminary. His teachers included Ayatollah

Ruhollah 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 ...

Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi Ayatollah Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi (1923/24 in Najafabad, Isfahan province – 2006 in Tehran) was an Iranian cleric, scholar and proponent of Islamic Unity, who spent most years after the Iranian revolution of 1979 under house arrest. T ...

, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Reza Golpayegani, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Boroujerdi and Allameh Sayyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei. He comes back to Tehran in 1961 to teach religious sciences. In that Time, most of clerics participated in protests against Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was known in that Time as "taghoot". Mahdavi Kani also added to these clerics and formed alliance with Ayatollah Khomeini. He also was imprisoned by Shah three times.

Career

After the demise of

Ayatollah Boroujerdi Grand Ayatollah Seyyed, Sayyid Hossein Ali Tababataei Borujerdi (Luri language, Luri/ fa, آیت الله العظمی سید حسین طباطبایی بروجردی; 23 March 1875 – 30 March 1961) was a leading Iran, Iranian Shia Islam, Shia ...

, Mahdavi Kani went back to Tehran and continued his struggle against the

Pahlavi regime The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

, something which he had started since he was 18, during the time of Ayatollah Boroujerdi. He was considerably active and effective in his participation in the Islamic movement of Iran led by Khomeini. Before the

Islamic 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 dyna ...

, he was appointed by Khomeini to the Revolutionary Council and later took up various political and religious positions. He was the leader of the Combatant Clergy Association, which he cofounded in 1977. Mahdavi Kani refused to join

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. ...

in 1979, because he believed clerics should remain non-partisan. He was appointed chief of the Central Provisional Komiteh for the Islamic Revolution that was a body in charge of trials and executions of the civil and military officials of the Pahlavi era. He served as the minister of interior in the cabinet of

to succeeding Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He was reappointed as minister of interior in the cabinet of

. He became the interim prime minister on 2 September 1981 and was in office until 29 October 1981. He was also chairman of provisional presidential council, after the assassination of president

Mohammad Ali Rajai Mohammad-Ali Rajai ( fa, محمدعلی رجائی; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was the second president of Iran from 2 to 30 August 1981 after serving as prime minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also minister of foreign affairs fro ...

and prime minister

Mohammad Javad Bahonar Mohammad-Javad Bahonar ( fa, محمدجواد باهنر, 5 September 1933 – 30 August 1981) was a Shia Iranian theologian and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Iran for less than one month in August 1981. Bahonar and other membe ...

. He has also been a member of the Constitutional Amendment Council of Iran, appointed by

Ayatollah 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 ...

, the Supreme Leader of Iran, to review and amend the

Constitution 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 adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...

in 1989. He was also elected as member of the assembly in 2008 in a by-election from Tehran. Mahdavi Kani is the founder and former head of

in Tehran, a university specializing in humanities. He was elected as chairman of the Assembly of Experts on 8 March 2011 after

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 Islami ...

resigned from office. In March 2013, he was reelected to the post for further two years.

Illness and death

Mahdavi Kani was hospitalized for a stroke on

's death anniversary, which brought him to coma on 4 June 2014. He was in coma for more than five months and died on 21 October 2014 at the age of 83. Mahdavi Kani was survived by his three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Hours after Mahdavi Kani's death, his office announced that his state funeral will be held on 23 October and his body will be buried at Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine. Iranian President

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...

also announced two days of mourning in his memorial.

Works

The following works of Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani are published: *The Beginning Points in Practical Ethics *The Book of Beest goftar (20 Discourses) *Starting Points in Practical Logic *The Basics and Principles of Islamic Economy in Holy Koran *The Explanation of Iftitah Prayer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdavi Kani, Mohammad Reza 1931 births 2014 deaths Iranian ayatollahs Prime Ministers of Iran Interior Ministers of Iran People from Tehran Province Combatant Clergy Association Secretaries-General People of the Iranian Revolution Iranian revolutionaries Council of the Islamic Revolution members Islamic Revolution Committees personnel Members of the Guardian Council

Early life

Career

Illness and death

Works

See also

References