Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia University, 24th September 2007.© Photo: Daniella Zalcman

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 28th October 1956) has been President of Iran since 6th August 2005. His previous position was Mayor of the capital of Iran, Tehran. Throughout his career he has developed a reputation both inside and outside his country as a 'hard line' Islamist for reversing reformist legislation, pursuing a civilian nuclear power programme, supporting groups unfriendly to the West, and controversial comments about the status of Israel.

Ahmadinejad has not hesitated in promoting his vision of Iran as a major power in the Middle East, strongly supportive of the Shia majority in neighbouring Iraq and opposed to the presence of American and other forces in the region. He has consistently denied, however, that Iran's nuclear ambitions signify a desire to develop nuclear weapons to threaten opponents of the Iranian government.

Ahmadinejad's willingness to present deeply controversial opinions and debate with his opponents in relatively open international forums contrast sharply with many world leaders' approaches; he even has a blog where a range of comments are published, though his government continues to restrict the internet within Iran. In September 2007, he was a guest speaker at Columbia University in the United States, where his controversial speech which downplayed the Jewish Holocaust was met with booing. His later appearance at the United Nations, which was boycotted by the USA and Israel, was similarly provocative: he labelled members of the Security Council "arrogant" and "bullying", while promising that Iran's nuclear programme would involve an entirely transparent process.

See also

• Iran