Mehdi Karroubi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mehdi Karroubi
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مهدی کروبی
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Karroubi in 2005
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| Member of Expediency Discernment Council | |
| In office 30 May 2004 – 19 June 2005 |
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| Appointed by | Ali Khamenei |
| Chairman | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Preceded by | Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel |
| 2nd Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly | |
| In office 28 May 2000 – 27 May 2004 |
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| Deputy | Behzad Nabavi Mohammad-Reza Khatami |
| Preceded by | Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri |
| Succeeded by | Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel |
| In office 3 August 1989 – 3 May 1992 |
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| Deputy | Hossein Hashemian |
| Preceded by | Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Succeeded by | Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri |
| First Deputy of the Parliament of Iran | |
| In office 28 June 1988 – 3 August 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Mohammad Yazdi |
| Succeeded by | Hossein Hashemian |
| In office 15 June 1986 – 14 June 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Mohammad Yazdi |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Yazdi |
| Member of Parliament of Iran | |
| In office 28 May 2000 – 28 May 2004 |
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| Constituency | Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr |
| Majority | 892,640 (30.45%) |
| In office 28 May 1984 – 28 May 1992 |
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| Constituency | Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr |
| Majority | 965,484 (61.4%; 3rd term), 1,443,270 (62.5%; 2nd term) |
| In office 28 May 1980 – 28 May 1984 |
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| Succeeded by | Mohammad-Reza Hashemi |
| Constituency | Aligudarz County |
| Majority | 49,097 (92.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 September 1937 Aligudarz, Lorestan Province, Imperial State of Iran |
| Died | Error: Need valid birth date (second date): year, month, day |
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| Spouse | Fatemeh Karroubi (m. 1962) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Tehran |
| Website | Official website: http://sahamnews.org/ |
Mehdi Karroubi (born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and a politician who supports reforms. He leads the National Trust Party. Since February 2011, Karroubi has been under house arrest. He is still confined to his home today.
He served as the speaker of the Iranian parliament for two terms. The first was from 1989 to 1992, and the second from 2000 to 2004. He also ran for president in the 2005 and 2009 elections.
People see him as a "moderate" leader. He is known for having strong support from people in rural areas. Karroubi views himself as a reformist who focuses on practical changes. He is now one of the main figures in the Iranian Green Movement.
He helped start the Association of Combatant Clerics party and was its secretary-general. Karroubi has often spoken out against the Guardian Council and Iran's court system. He was also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and an adviser to the Supreme Leader. He left these roles in 2005 after the first round of the presidential election.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mehdi Karroubi was born on 26 September 1937. He grew up in a family of Shia religious leaders. His hometown is Aligudarz, a city in the western part of Lorestan province. He has a brother named Hassan.
Karroubi studied religious subjects and Islamic law. He attended special schools called seminaries in Qom and Tehran. He learned from important teachers like Hossein-Ali Montazeri and Ruhollah Khomeini. He later became a Mujtahid, a high-ranking religious scholar. This happened with the support of Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sanei and others.
He also studied theology and law at Tehran University. In 1962, he became a lawyer focusing on business and investments.
Political Beginnings
During the 1970s, Karroubi was put in prison several times. This was under the government of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. One time, he was held at the Qasr Prison in Tehran. His wife, Fatemeh, said she took their second son, Taghi, to see his father in prison when he was six months old.
In 1978, Karroubi stopped working as a lawyer. He decided to focus completely on politics. In 1979, he joined the Iranian Revolution. After the revolution, Karroubi led two important organizations. These were the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and the Martyr's Foundation.
In 1988, Karroubi returned to business after ten years in politics. He used his experience as a lawyer to start trading and investing.
Political Ideas and Goals
Views on Domestic Issues
When he was speaker of Parliament for the first time, Karroubi was part of a group called the "radical faction." They disagreed with President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's plans. Rafsanjani wanted more foreign investment and market changes. But Karroubi and his group wanted people to be more involved in politics. They also wanted the government to control the economy.
In 1989, Karroubi became the head of the Association of Combatant Clerics of Tehran. He later left this group in 2005. Then, he started his own political party, called Etemad-e-Melli.
His wife, Fatemeh, worked as his social affairs advisor. This was when he was the chairman of the Majlis of Iran from 2000 to 2004.
Mehdi Karroubi is from the Lur ethnic group. He believes that all people should feel included in the Iranian government. This includes people of all genders, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. He strongly supported the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. As speaker of Parliament, he visited churches, synagogues, and Zoroastrian temples.
Karroubi has often criticized the Guardian Council. He has written letters to them about his concerns. He questioned how the Guardian Council oversees elections.
Views on Foreign Issues
Karroubi and his National Trust Party believe in talking with the United States. They hope this will help solve long-standing disagreements. After Barack Obama became US president, Karroubi said that changes from the United States were positive.
Karroubi has also criticized President Ahmadinejad's foreign policy. He disagreed with Ahmadinejad's comments about the Holocaust. Karroubi stated, "The Holocaust is an event which did take place." He felt that the president's remarks harmed Iran's standing.
Presidential Campaigns
Campaign for President in 2005
Karroubi was one of the reformist candidates in the 2005 Iranian presidential election. He came in third place in the voting. He was close behind the top two candidates, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since no one won more than half the votes, a second election was held. Ahmadinejad won this run-off election.
After the results were announced, Karroubi claimed there were problems with the election. He said that certain groups were used to help Ahmadinejad win unfairly. He also suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, was involved. Ayatollah Khamenei responded to Karroubi's claims. He said they were "below his dignity" and warned of a "crisis" in Iran.
Karroubi then wrote an open letter. In it, he resigned from all his political roles. This included his job as an adviser to the Supreme Leader and as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Both of these jobs were given to him by Khamenei. The day after, on 20 June, several reformist newspapers were stopped from being distributed. This was because they published Karroubi's letter. One newspaper, Eqbal, was completely banned. There were claims that Karroubi was put under house arrest because of his letter.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who finished first in the first round, also spoke about unfair actions. He supported Karroubi's concerns about the election.
Campaign for President in 2009
Right after the 2005 election, Karroubi started the Etemad-e Melli Party. He also launched the Etemad-e Melli newspaper. In the 2009 election, he ran as the leader of his party. Many people who were not part of his party also supported him.
Karroubi was seen as one of the most organized candidates. He had his own party and newspaper. He also had a clear political stance.
He said he was the first candidate to announce he would run for president. Before the election, he refused to step aside to support Mohammad Khatami or Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Later, both Mousavi and Karroubi said that having more reformist candidates would help them win. They believed it would encourage more people to vote.
Karroubi shared his plans by releasing four election statements. His main goals included:
- Returning to a planned system of government. This would involve using experts to make decisions.
- Improving financial policies and making the national budget more effective.
- Protecting human rights and people's privacy.
- Improving the social status of women.
- Making sure oil profits benefit the whole nation.
- Supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
- Supporting the rights of religious or tribal minorities.
- Supporting the rule of law and speaking out against illegal actions.
- Supporting a free press and open access to information and the internet.
In a 2009 interview, Karroubi also promised to expand women's rights if he became president. He planned to remove Iran's morality police street patrols. These patrols enforce an Islamic dress code on Iranian women. He questioned the mandatory Islamic dress code and suggested that the Hijab should be optional.
His main economic plan was to share ownership of national oil and gas companies with the public. In this plan, company shares and profits would be given to Iranians over 18. They would not be allowed to sell these shares. He predicted this would add a significant amount of money to every Iranian's income each month.
His campaign slogan was "Change for Iran." This phrase was seen on his banners and advertisements.
Former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi was one of the first to support him. He also served as Karroubi's campaign manager. Karroubi promised to make him vice president if he won.
Karroubi also received support from other notable figures. These included journalist Abbas Abdi and former member of parliament Jamileh Kadivar. Other supporters were Ata'ollah Mohajerani, Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, Mohammad-Ali Najafi, Emadeddin Baghi, and Abdolkarim Soroush.
Mehdi Karroubi campaigned widely with his wife, Fatemeh Karroubi. This was unusual for a politician and his wife in Iran at the time. Fatemeh Karroubi also led her husband's campaign in Tehran province. She gave separate speeches to support his candidacy. Karroubi's son, Taghi Karroubi, was one of his campaign managers.
Post-Election Challenges
After the 2009 election, Karroubi raised concerns about the results. He stated that the election had been unfair. Some officials, including Ali Larijani and Sadeq Larijani, rejected his claims. Representatives of Ali Khamenei and a vice chairman of the National Security Commission called for Karroubi's arrest.
Facing Difficulties
On 8 January 2010, Karroubi's son, Hussein Karroubi, reported on his father's website that his armored car had been targeted. Pro-government demonstrators in Qazvin threw objects at his car and the building where he was staying. The New York Times reported that Karroubi had faced insults since the election.
On 2 September 2010, a group of people broke into Karroubi's apartment building. They caused damage to the building and tried to cut off utilities. Karroubi's son, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, said he heard some of the attackers say they wanted to harm his father. Several members of Karroubi's security team were hurt while trying to calm the situation.
Under House Arrest
Following revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, leaders of the Green movement in Iran called for demonstrations. The government responded by placing movement leaders under house arrest. On 14 February 2011, Iranian state TV showed members of parliament chanting against Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi. A statement from conservative parliamentarians called them "corrupts on earth." This term is sometimes used against political opponents in Iran.
Reports stated that Karroubi, along with fellow opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi and their wives Fatemeh Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard, were taken from their homes by security forces. They were reportedly moved to Heshmatiyeh Prison in Tehran in February 2011.
Hunger Strike for Rights
On 16 August 2017, Karroubi began a hunger strike. He was protesting his house arrest. He demanded a public trial and asked for security agents to leave his home. He was 79 years old at the time and had recently had heart surgery. He was taken to the hospital in less than 24 hours. He started eating again after the government agreed to remove intelligence agents from his home. However, his demand for a trial has not been granted.
Personal Life
Karroubi is married to Fatemeh Karroubi. She is the daughter of a trading family from Aligoudarz. They have been married since she was 14 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Mehdí Karrubí para niños
Images for kids
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Mehdi Karroubi in 2005
