• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the president of Iran. Ahmadinejad originally took office in 2005 and was re-elected on June 12 2009.

  Opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi claims he actually won and accused the election of being rigged.Time: Was Ahmadinejad's Win Rigged (June 15, 2009) Despite warnings by the Interior Ministry that anyone who gathered on June 15, 2009, in Tehran's Freedom Square to protest President Ahmadienejad's re-election would be beaten or worse, millions of Iranian protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "We want our vote back!" in Freedom Square.LA Times: Iranian protesters contest Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection (June 15, 2009)

  On June 29, 2009, the Guardian Council, Iran's top electoral body confirmed Ahmadinejad as the winner of the election.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8125619.stm

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: October 28, 1956GlobalSecurity.org: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  2. Birthplace: Garmsar, Iran
  3. President of Iran since 2005GlobalSecurity.org: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  4. 2003 to 2005: Mayor of TehranGlobalSecurity.org: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  5. September 24, 2007: Spoke at Columbia University
  6. Holds a Ph.D in Civil EngineeringGlobalSecurity.org: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  7. Has made several controversial statements implying the Holocaust never existedAzstarnet: Transcript - Iran's president at Columbia University
  8. His administration has also been criticized for corruption and cronyismInternational Crisis Group: Ahmadi-Nejad’s Tumultuous Presidency (February 6, 2007)
  9. Reportedly requested a meeting with President Barack Obama on February 10, 2009CBS News: Iran Asks For Meeting With Obama (February 10, 2009)

• Re-election Campaign

  During presidential reelection campaign, Ahmadinejad had borrowed a page from President Obama's Yes We Can election campaign playbook. In a promotional video issued by Ahmadinejad's campaign and reportedly marketed toward college students, the Iran President was depicted pointing to the phrase "We Can" written on a blackboard.Politico: 'Yes We Can,' Farsi edition (April 29, 2009)

• Ahmadinejad's Policies

  Since entering office in 2005, Ahmadinejad has worked to improve relations with Russia, Venezuela, and Syria and has introduced several economic reforms including a gas rationing program and large-scale interest rate cuts.BBC: Iran and Venezuela bolster ties (September 17, 2006) New York Times: Unrest Grows Amid Gas Rationing in Iran (June 29, 2007)

  Ahmadinejad has also encouraged an economic policy that works as a compromise between western capitalism and the socialist ideals of the 1978 Iranian Revolution. Ahmadinejad attended and spoke at the 63rd United Nations General Assembly in September 2008.Wall Street Journal: Everyone Needs to Worry About Iran (September 22, 2008)

• Criticisms

  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attracted considerable criticism both from within Iran and from abroad. His controversial statements that the Holocaust may not have happened and that homosexuality does not exist in Iran have attracted the most international attention. His vocal support for Iran's nuclear program has also drawn considerable criticism from abroad, most notably from the United States. Criticism of his administration also includes allegations of corruption and cronyism and his interference with state universities by forcing opposing professors into resignation.Azstarnet: Transcript - Iran's president at Columbia University International Crisis Group: Ahmadi-Nejad’s Tumultuous Presidency (February 6, 2007) Wall Street Journal: Everyone Needs to Worry About Iran (September 22, 2008) </small>

  Ahmadinejad was the ranking official at an anti-racism conference in Geneva on April 19, 2009, and gave the opening speech, in which he said the Jewish nationalist movement of Zionism "personifies racism" and was created "on the pretext of Jewish suffering" from WWII. Dozens of delegates collected their papers and walked out of the conference.Guardian: Britain walks out of conference as Ahmadinejad calls Israel 'racist' (April 20, 2009) CNN: Diplomats walk out en masse from Iran president's speech (April 20, 2009)

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Iran | Ahmadinejad Speech | Ahmadinejad UN Address | Rally Against Ahmadinejad | Lee Bollinger | Iran President Denied Ground Zero Visit | Columbia Hosts Ahmadinejad | Iraq | George W. Bush | 2007 Iran Hostage Crisis | Iran Nuclear Crisis | Tensions with Iran | US-Iran Navy Standoff | Strait of Hormuz | Mehdi Kazemi | Ahmadinejad Iraq Visit | UN General Assembly | Iranian Revolution (1978) | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Exhausted | Crazy Leaders Ad | Iran Nuclear Development | Robert Levinson | Ameneh Bahrami | Ahmadinejad Christmas Speech | Barack Obama | Mir Hossein Mousavi

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