Mohammad Nahavandian ( fa, ‌محمد نهاوندیان, born 2 February 1954) is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

politician and economist who served as the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

for Economic Affairs. He was formerly

Chief of Staff of the President of Iran Presidential Administration of Iran (including Office of the President of Iran) consists of the immediate staff of the current President of Iran and multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. It is located in Pasteur Street. Chi ...

, serving from 2013 until 2017. He is described as a "moderate, religious-minded veteran technocrat" with strong ties to the traditional '' bazaari'' class. He was reportedly on friendly terms with late

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 ...

, as well as

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 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Early life and education

Nahavandian is the son of Jafar Nahavandian, a famous Iranian religious figure and founder of ''Hossienieh Zanjaniha'' (). He was born in 1954 in

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 ...

. He graduated from Alavi Institute in the early 1970s and started to study in ''

Hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold s ...

''. with a degree in economics and then moved to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for education at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

. He left the United States and returned to Iran before

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 dyna ...

. He was one of the closest people to

Morteza Motahari Morteza Motahhari ( fa, مرتضی مطهری, also Romanized as "Mortezā Motahharī"; 31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) was an Iranian Twelver Shia scholar, philosopher, lecturer. Motahhari is considered to have an important influence on the ...

and Mohammad Javad Bahonar. He then founded Economic Council of Iran in 1980 but returned to the United States to continue his education. He received his Ph.D in economics in 1989 and founded Islamic Cooperation of the Americans. He returned to Iran after eight years in 1994.

Career

Nahavandian became deputy

minister of commerce A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial polic ...

in 1981, having been appointed by Yahya Ale Eshaq and served in the capacity until 1983. Nahavandian was again appointed to the same office in 1993, and served until 2002, when he resigned from office to become Economic adviser to the President Mohammad Khatami. After

was appointed as the Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, he named Nahavandian as his deputy in economic affairs. He was also choice of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the head of

Tehran Stock Exchange The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) ( fa, بورس اوراق بهادار تهران, romanized: ''Burs-e Owraq-e Bahadar-e Tehran'') is Iran's largest stock exchange, which first opened in 1967. The TSE is based in Tehran. , 339 companies with a com ...

(TSE) in 2006 but he rejected it to continue his career at the Security Council. In December 2007, he was elected as the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce Industries and Mines. After resignation of long time president of the chamber Mohammad Reza Behzadian, Nahavandian was elected as his successor with 165 votes from representatives of cities and organizations and becomes president of the chamber. but after the election of Hassan Rouhani, he was named as his economic adviser and head of economic commission for the transition affairs. It was reported that Nahavandian will become chief of staff of the president after the inauguration of Rouhani. After Rouhani took office as the

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 ...

, he officially appointed Nahavandian for the position.

Works

*“New Horizons in Trade Policy-Making”, Commerce Publishing Co., Tehran, 2002 *“Tobacco Conflict, Study of Iran-British Economic Relations in 19th Century”, Fajr Publications, Tehran, 1978Publications of Nahavandian
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahavandian, Mohammad 1954 births Living people People from Tehran George Washington University alumni Vice presidents of Iran for Economic Affairs Iranian economists