List of presidents of Iran facts for kids

This is a list of the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the establishment of that office in 1980. The president of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in the country. The most recent president, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash on 19 May 2024, leaving the office vacant. Mohammad Mokhber is serving as acting president until the next election, to be held on 28 June 2024.

Background

After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution. The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it. This was also approved in constitutional referendum on December 2 and 3.

The 1979 Constitution designated the supreme leader as the head of state and the president and prime minister as the heads of government. The post of prime minister was abolished after the 1989 constitutional referendum.

The first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25, 1980 and resulted in the election of Abolhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981 by Parliament. Until the early election on July 24, 1981, the duties of the president were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected president on July 24, 1981 and took office on August 2. Rajai remained in office for less than one month, with both he and his prime minister being assassinated on August 30, 1981. Once again, a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president.

Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani were each elected president for two terms. Ebrahim Raisi was the eighth president, serving from his election in 2021 until his death on May 19, 2024 leaving the office occupied in an acting capacity by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected as the current president on July 6, 2024.

List of officeholders

Islamic Republic of Iran (from 1979)
1st Constitution (1979–1989)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election	Previous office	Prime minister	Cabinet
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
The Council of the Islamic Revolution deputised during the interim (3 December 1979 – 4 February 1980).
1		Abolhassan Banisadr سید ابوالحسن بنی‌صدر (1933–2021)	4 February 1980	22 June 1981	1 year, 138 days	Independent	1980	Minister of Finance (1979–1980)	Mohammad-Ali Rajai	Rajai
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (22 June 1981 – 2 August 1981).
2		Mohammad-Ali Rajai محمدعلی رجائی (1933–1981)	2 August 1981	30 August 1981	28 days	IRP	1981 (Jul)	Prime Minister of Iran (1980–1981)	Mohammad-Javad Bahonar	Bahonar
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (30 August 1981 – 9 October 1981).
3		Ali Khamenei علی خامنه ای (born 1939)	9 October 1981	16 August 1989	7 years, 311 days	IRP CCA	1981 (Oct) 1985	Member of the Parliament of Iran (1980–1981)	Mir-Hossein Mousavi	Mousavi I–II
2nd Constitution (from 1989)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election	Previous office	First vice president	Cabinet
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی (1934–2017)	16 August 1989	3 August 1997	7 years, 352 days	CCA	1989 1993	Speaker of the Parliament of Iran (1980–1989)	Hassan Habibi	Rafsanjani I–II
5		Mohammad Khatami محمد خاتمی (born 1943)	3 August 1997	3 August 2005	8 years	ACC	1997 2001	Minister of Culture (1982–1992)	Hassan Habibi Mohammad Reza Aref	Khatami I–II
6		Mahmoud Ahmadinejad محمود احمدی‌نژاد (born 1956)	3 August 2005	3 August 2013	8 years	ABII	2005 2009	Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005)	Parviz Davoodi Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Mohammad-Reza Rahimi	Ahmadinejad I–II
7		Hassan Rouhani حسن روحانی (born 1948)	3 August 2013	3 August 2021	8 years	MDP	2013 2017	Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (1989–2005)	Eshaq Jahangiri	Rouhani I–II
8		Ebrahim Raisi ابراهیم رئیسی (1960–2024)	3 August 2021	19 May 2024	2 years, 290 days	CCA	2021	Chief Justice (2019–2021)	Mohammad Mokhber	Raisi
–		Mohammad Mokhber محمد مخبر (born 1955) Acting	19 May 2024	Incumbent	172 days	Independent	–	Vice President (2021–2024)	–	Mokhber

Timeline

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Irán para niños

• Supreme Leader of Iran
• President of Iran
• List of vice presidents of Iran
• List of heads of state of Iran
• Prime Minister of Iran
  • List of prime ministers of Iran
• List of speakers of the Parliament of Iran