Logo | |
Campaigned for | Iranian presidential election, 2009 |
---|---|
Candidate | Mir-Hossein Mousavi Prime Minister of Iran 1981-1989 |
Affiliation | Iranian reform movement Green Movement |
Status | Not Won election, 12 June 2009 |
Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
Key people | Ghorban Behzadian Nejad (Manager) Mohammad Khatami Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur Zahra Rahnavard |
Slogan | |
Chant | 'A progressive Iran with law, justice and freedom' |
Website | kalemeh |
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (Persian: میرحسین موسوی خامنه) served as the last Prime Minister of Iran, from 1981 to 1989, before the position was abolished in the 1989 review of the Iranian constitution. In the years leading up to the Islamic Revolution, Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, moved to the United States; they returned to Iran shortly after the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
Hassan Ayat (PhD) and Abdolhamid Diyalameh (PhD and MP) attempted to remove Mousavi and Rahnavard from the government; both men were killed under suspicious circumstances. After 20 years of absence from Iranian politics, Mousavi announced his candidacy in the 2009 Iranian Presidential election.
Past elections
Mousavi refused to run for President in the 1997 Iranian Presidential election. This led the reformists to choose Mohammad Khatami, who won a landslide victory. Mousavi's wife would later explain in an interview that her husband had not run in the 1997 election because of discouraging messages from "the higher officials", a hint possibly towards the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and/or the then President, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Mousavi was considered a possible reformist candidate in the 2005 Iranian Presidential election; he stated, however, on October 12, 2004, he would not run. This decision followed a meeting with President Mohammad Khatami and the two other high-ranking members of the Association of Combatant Clerics, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohammad Mousavi-Khoiniha.
Campaign news
Platform
Mousavi ran as an independent Principled Reformist candidate.[1] Although one of the original founders of the Iranian reformist camp, he shares many conservative principles. Many reformist parties, among them reformist Islamic Iranian Participation Front (whose main candidate was Khatami), supported his candidacy after Khatami withdrew from the race.[2] Many supporters of the reformist movement, however, objected to Mousavi's candidacy on the grounds he was not committed to the principles of the reformist parties.[3] Although Mousavi stated he was not running as a reformist, he indicated he welcomed the support of different parties, both reformist and conservative.[4] He started his campaign from the center of Iranian politics, but over time shifted more towards the reformist camp by declaring his support for reform. Although some active members of the conservative camp, such as Emad Afroogh, and the conservative newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, supported Mousavi's candidacy, he did not receive the official backing of any major conservative party. His candidacy made it harder for the conservatives to support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and large conservative parties, such as the Combatant Clergy Association, did not back Ahmadinejad (the then current President) for a second term of office.[5]
The BBC reported Mousavi "called for greater personal freedoms in Iran and criticised the ban on private television channels", but "refused to back down from the country's disputed nuclear programme, saying it is "for peaceful purposes".[6]
On May 30, Mousavi pledged that, if elected, he would amend "discriminatory and unjust regulations" against women, and take other measures in favour of women's rights and equality.[7]
- Mousavi addressing supporters during a presidential campaign stop in Zanjan
- Mousavi delivering a speech in Zanjan in Azerbaijani language
Iran blocks Facebook
On May 23, 2009, the Iranian government blocked access to Facebook across the country, but rescinded the blockage after public protests. The Guardian reported the blockage had been a response to the use of Facebook by the candidates running against Ahmadinejad.[8] Mousavi had great support from those using social networking sites such as Facebook; PC World reported Mousavi's Facebook page had more than 6,600 supporters at the time.[9]
Endorsements
- Zahra Rahnavard, Spouse of Mousavi
- Mohammad Khatami, Former President of Iran
- Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of Assembly of Experts
- Mohammad Reza Khatami, Former Deputy Speaker of Parliament
- Mohsen Sazegara, Writer and Former Deputy Prime Minister
- Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Grand Ayatollah and Former Deputy Supreme Leader
- Yousef Sane'i, Grand Ayatollah and Former Head of Guardian Council
- Masoumeh Ebtekar, Former Vice President
- Alireza Nourizadeh, Writer
- Hassan Khomeini, Grandchildren of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
- Abdolkarim Soroush, Writer
- Ebrahim Nabavi, Writer
- Bahareh Rahnama, Actress
- Ali Daei, football coach
- Ali Karimi, Iranian professional footballer
- Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and human rights activist
- Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Persian traditional singer
- Ezzatolah Entezami, Iranian actor
- Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian-American actress
- Masoud Kimiai, Iranian Movie Director
- Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Movie Director
- Hana Makhmalbaf, Iranian Movie Director
- Kiumars Pourahmad, Iranian Movie Director
- Manijeh Hekmat, Iranian Movie Director
- Dariush Mehrjui, Iranian Movie Director[10]
- Fatemeh Motamed-Aria, Iranian actress
- Islamic Iran Participation Front[11]
- Association of Combatant Clerics
- Executives of Construction Party
- Society of Forces Following the Line of the Imam
- Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization
- Islamic Labour Party
- Workers' House
- Nationalist-Religious Forces
- Invite and Correction of Iran
- Democracy Party
Election
According to official results, Mousavi lost the 2009 election. Accusations of fraud were, however, widespread; the results announcement led to widespread protests,[12] which were suppressed by the Iranian government.[13]
References
- ↑ http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=392200%5B%5D
- ↑ ":: پايگاه اطلاع رساني نوروز :: www.norooznews.ir :: بيانيه جبهه مشاركت در حمايت از مهندس مير حسين موسوي در انتخابات دهمين دوره رياست جمهوري ::". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- ↑ "موج سوم؛ پایگاه اطلاع رسانی "پویش (کمپین) دعوت از خاتمی"". mowj.ir. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
- ↑ "Irna". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- ↑ "newsitem - roozonline.com". Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- ↑ "Iran's presidential candidates", BBC, May 21, 2009
- ↑ "Iran candidate Mousavi backs women's rights", BBC, May 30, 2009
- ↑ "Iranian government blocks Facebook access". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2009-05-24. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
- ↑ "Facebook Blocked in Iran Ahead of Elections". Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ↑ "مهرجویی: قاطعانه از موسوی حمایت میکنم /ارادت خاصی به میرحسین دارم". Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ↑ http://nasim88.ir/?p=2380%5B%5D
- ↑ "Defeated Iranian reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi calls for more protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
- ↑ "Iran protest cancelled as leaked election results show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came third". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
External links
- Kalemeh News
- Ghalam News
- Mir Hussein Mousavi
- Setad e Ma - ستاد ما
- Setad e Man
- Vote for Change - Vote for Mir Hossein Mousavi, a promotional video by a number of Iranian motion-picture celebrities, including Dariush Mehrjoui, Kiumars Pourahmad, Manijeh Hekmat, Masoud Kimiai and Mohsen Makhmalbaf: YouTube (9 min 54 sec).
- "The changing face of Iranian politics", BBC video, June 7, 2009 (on the prospect of Mousavi's election)
- Mousavi's Program booklet, first version