Hassan Rouhani was recently re-elected for a second term as President of Iran and could make history in office by becoming the first Iranian leader to win a second term.
Rouhani, 65, was Iran’s first prime minister after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He led the “Green Movement” during his 2009 term of office, protesting against re-election by the regime in Tehran.
He made his fortune trading cars, after receiving a degree in civil engineering from Mahanand University, in Tehran.
Rouhani’s opponents, Saeed Jalili and Ebrahim Raisi, both of whom are highly conservative, have called for supporters to attend the elections to demonstrate their support. The two candidates have courted Shia religious organizations and warned other candidates to stay away from the polls.
Both are seeking to fill the political vacuum left by outgoing president, Hassan Rouhani, who is term-limited.
Opponents of Hassan Rouhani accuse him of compromising on the nuclear deal, which significantly reduced Iran’s nuclear activities, if the United States withdrew from the deal.