Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli
Rahmani Fazli in 2020
Minister of Interior
In office
15 August 2013 – 25 August 2021
PresidentHassan Rouhani
Preceded byMostafa Mohammad-Najjar
Succeeded byAhmad Vahidi
President of the Supreme Audit Court
In office
2 July 2008 – 15 August 2013
Preceded byMohammad Reza Rahimi
Succeeded byAmin Hossein Rahimi
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office
28 May 1992 – 28 May 1996
ConstituencyShirvan
Majority57,947 (53.50%)[1]
Personal details
Born1959 (age 64–65)
Shirvan, Pahlavi Iran
Alma materFerdowsi University of Mashhad
Tarbiat Modares University
Signature
WebsiteGovernmental website

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli (Persian: عبدالرضا رحمانی فضلی; born 1959) is an Iranian conservative politician and interior minister of Hassan Rouhani's government. He was the president of Supreme Audit Court from 2008 to 2013.

Early life and education

Fazli was born in Shirvan in 1959.[2][3] He is a graduate of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.[4] He also received a PhD in geography from Tarbiat Modarres University.[5]

Career

Fazli served in different positions, including the head of the planning department, member of parliament, deputy chairman of Iranian National TV and Radio, deputy head of economic and international affairs at the ministry of interior.[6][7] He was appointed secretary and deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council in October 2005.[8] He was the deputy of Ali Larijani in charge of the cultural, social and media affairs during the first presidential term of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.[7][9] Fazli resigned from post in November 2007 one month after the appointment of Saeed Jalili as the head of the council.[10]

In July 2008, Fazli was appointed as the president of the Supreme Audit Court.[6] He was reappointed to the post in July 2012 for further four years.[6]

In late July 2013, the Mehr news agency reported that Fazli is the only candidate for interior minister at the cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.[11] Fazli was nominated by Rouhani for the post on 4 August.[12] He was confirmed by the Parliament on 15 August, replacing Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in the post. Fazli was given 256 for votes and 19 against votes, while 9 members of the Parliament did not attend the session.[13] On 24 August 2013 President Rouhani additionally appointed Fazli Secretary General of Drug Control Headquarters.[14]

In an interview in November 2019, he referred to the civilian protesters, saying: "We shot them in both the head and the legs, not just the head. We also hit the legs!" 1,500 people were killed during two weeks of unrest across Iran.[15] ·Iranian officials later admitted that they approved live fire against civilians protesters, at the order of Fazili.[16]

Views and alliances

Fazli is a conservative politician and long-term associate of Ali Larijani, former parliament speaker.[17][18]

Sanctions

In May 2020, the United States Department of State sanctioned Fazli due to his alleged role in the 2019 Iranian protests and committing human rights abuses against the Iranian people.[19]

References

  1. ^ Members Iranian Parliament.
  2. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (5 August 2013). "All the President's Men: Rouhani's Cabinet" (Policy Brief). Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. ^ نگاهی به سوابق هیات وزیران دولت یازدهم Tabnak
  4. ^ Biography of Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli Hamshahri
  5. ^ "President Hassan Rouhani's pragmatic conservative, security-intelligence-oriented Cabinet nominations". Iran Politik. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "Dr. Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli was re-appointed to serve as the Senior President of Supreme Audit Court of Islamic Republic of Iran". ASOSAI. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  7. ^ a b Yonah Alexander; Milton M. Hoenig (2008). The New Iranian Leadership: Ahmadinejad, Terrorism, Nuclear Ambition, and the Middle East. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-275-99639-0.
  8. ^ "Supreme National Security Council". Global Security. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Larijani's Deputy Resigns". Rooz Online. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Iran's deputy head of Supreme National Security Council resigns". Xinhua. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Iran News Round Up - 29 July 2013". AEI. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Hassan Rouhani's New List of Ministers Unveiled". Haberler. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  13. ^ "Iranian Parliament Gives Vote of Confidence to Majority of Rouhani's Proposed Ministers". Fars News. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  14. ^ "President appoints interior minister as new head of Drug Control Headquarters". 24 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Special Report: Iran's leader ordered crackdown on unrest - 'Do whatever it takes to end it'". Reuters. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  16. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz; Gladstone, Rick (1 December 2019). "With Brutal Crackdown, Iran Is Convulsed by Worst Unrest in 40 Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  17. ^ Randjbar Daemi, Siavush (8 August 2013). "In Iran, Rowhani's first cabinet strikes a complex balance". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Iran politics: Rowhani takes a centre line in his cabinet nominees". ViewsWire. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  19. ^ "US sanctions Iranian interior minister on rights abuses".

External links

Political offices Preceded byMohammad-Reza Rahimi President of the Supreme Audit Court 2008–2013 Succeeded byAmin-Hossein Rahimi Preceded byMostafa Mohammad-Najjar Minister of Interior 2013–2021 Succeeded byAhmad Vahidi
Interior Ministers of Iran (since 1979)
Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani (2013–2021)
Categories