Rafsanjani: A Portrait

Introduction

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most important political actors and a man who took on crucial roles at some of the most critical times from the 1979 Islamic revolution to the present day, has passed away from a heart attack at the age of 82. Despite his advanced years, Rafsanjani’s death was not an expected development, and came as a shock to the Iranian public. One reason why it was so surprising was that there was no prior news or indication that he was ailing. Another reason was that it was believed that Rafsanjani could seek to intervene in critical developments in Iranian politics expected in the short term. Following Rafsanjani’s death, it was announced that there would be three days of mourning and one day of official holiday; the only other figure to have received the same treatment was the Ayatollah Khomeini, the founding leader of the revolution. Indeed, Rafsanjani’s death may be said to be the most important since Khomeini, since he was one of the revolution’s most important actors, together with Beheshti and Khamenei. Rafsanjani was compared by his supporters to Amir Kabir, one of the most important figures in Iranian political history, and by an interesting coincidence, he died on the same day. To understand his importance, it is worth looking at his life and laying out future possibilities for Iran.