Ali Akbar Velayati
Ali Akbar Velayati (Persian: علیاکبر ولایتی ; born 24 June 1945) is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, senior adviser to the Supreme Leader in international affairs and head of the board of founders and the board of trustees of the Islamic Azad University.
Ali Akbar Velayati
858,305 (52.5%)
24 June 1945
Rostamabad, Iran
Islamic Republican Party (1979–1987)
National Front (1961–1970s)
Shirin Khoshnevisan (1980–2003, her death)
Leyla Enayati (2007–present)[2]
6
Order of Knowledge (1st class)[3]
He is also a member of Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame, Expediency Discernment Council's President of Center for Strategic Research, senior fellow of Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences, and also a former member of Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. He is the secretary-general of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening.
He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for more than fifteen years from December 1981 to August 1997 under Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Presidents Ali Khamenei and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He is the first and only person to have held this position for over ten years. He was a candidate in 2013 presidential election and lost, coming fifth out of the six candidates garnering 2,268,753 votes, which was 6.18% of the votes.
Early life and education[edit]
Velayati was born in Rostamabad village in Shemiran, Tehran, on 24 June 1945.[4][5] He was matriculated into Tehran University of medical sciences in 1964. Velayati finished his studies in pediatrics before moving to Johns Hopkins University for a fellowship in infectious diseases. In the meantime, Velayati taught at university and was an active member of such influential body as the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. He is still a member of Expediency Council and Islamic Encyclopedia Foundation.
Presidential campaigns[edit]
2005 presidential election[edit]
Iran's conservative alliance considered Velayati a possible candidate for 2005 presidential election. Still, he announced that he did not accept the candidacy of the conservative alliance and would run as an Independent. He finally decided not to run. It was speculated that he did not want to run against Rafsanjani.
2013 presidential election[edit]
He announced his candidacy for the 2013 presidential election and was supported by some conservative groups. He promised a robust external relationship with community reconciliation and more diplomatic relations with Europe and the United States. He also criticized President Ahmadinejad's foreign policy.[18] He received 2,268,753 of the votes, coming in fifth place.
Personal life[edit]
On 12 March 2020, the Tasnim News Agency reported that Velayati had tested positive for COVID-19. He was reported to be under quarantine.[19]
Velayati has had a large number of books and academic works published, including: