List of presidents of Iran

This is a list of the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the establishment of that office in 1980. The president of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in the country. The current president, Masoud Pezeshkian has been in office since 28 July 2024 after winning the 2024 Iranian presidential election.

Background

After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution.^[1] The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it. This was also approved in constitutional referendum on December 2 and 3.

The 1979 Constitution designated the supreme leader as the head of state and the president and prime minister as the heads of government. The post of prime minister was abolished after the 1989 constitutional referendum.

The first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25, 1980 and resulted in the election of Abolhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981 by Parliament. Until the early election on July 24, 1981, the duties of the president were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected president on July 24, 1981 and took office on August 2. Rajai remained in office for less than one month, with both he and his prime minister being assassinated on August 30, 1981. Once again, a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president.

Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani were each elected president for two terms. Ebrahim Raisi was the eighth president, serving from his election in 2021 until his death on May 19, 2024 leaving the office occupied in an acting capacity by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected as the current president on July 6, 2024.

List of officeholders

Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-1989)
1st Constitution (1979–1989)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election	Previous office	Prime minister	Cabinet
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
The Council of the Islamic Revolution deputised during the interim (3 December 1979 – 4 February 1980).[a]
1		Abolhassan Banisadr سید ابوالحسن بنی‌صدر (1933–2021)	4 February 1980	22 June 1981	1 year, 138 days	Independent	1980	Minister of Finance (1979–1980)	Mohammad-Ali Rajai	Rajai
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (22 June 1981 – 2 August 1981).[a]
2		Mohammad-Ali Rajai محمدعلی رجائی (1933–1981)	2 August 1981	30 August 1981[b]	28 days	IRP	1981 (Jul)	Prime Minister of Iran (1980–1981)	Mohammad-Javad Bahonar	Bahonar
The Presidential Council deputised during the interim (30 August 1981 – 9 October 1981).[a]
3		Ali Khamenei علی خامنه ای (born 1939)	9 October 1981	16 August 1989[2]	7 years, 311 days	IRP CCA	1981 (Oct) 1985	Member of the Parliament of Iran (1980–1981)	Mir-Hossein Mousavi	Mousavi I–II
2nd Constitution (from 1989)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election	Previous office	First vice president	Cabinet
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی (1934–2017)	16 August 1989[2]	3 August 1997	7 years, 352 days	CCA	1989 1993	Speaker of the Parliament of Iran (1980–1989)	Hassan Habibi	Rafsanjani I–II
5		Mohammad Khatami محمد خاتمی (born 1943)	3 August 1997	3 August 2005	8 years	ACC	1997 2001	Minister of Culture (1982–1992)	Hassan Habibi Mohammad Reza Aref	Khatami I–II
6		Mahmoud Ahmadinejad محمود احمدی‌نژاد (born 1956)	3 August 2005	3 August 2013	8 years	ABII	2005 2009	Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005)	Parviz Davoodi Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Mohammad-Reza Rahimi	Ahmadinejad I–II
7		Hassan Rouhani حسن روحانی (born 1948)	3 August 2013	3 August 2021	8 years	MDP	2013 2017	Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (1989–2005)	Eshaq Jahangiri	Rouhani I–II
8		Ebrahim Raisi ابراهیم رئیسی (1960–2024)	3 August 2021	19 May 2024[b]	2 years, 290 days	CCA	2021	Chief Justice (2019–2021)	Mohammad Mokhber	Raisi
–		Mohammad Mokhber[a] محمد مخبر (born 1955) Acting	19 May 2024	28 July 2024	70 days	Independent	–	Vice President (2021–2024)	–	Mokhber
9		Masoud Pezeshkian مسعود پزشکیان (born 1954)	28 July 2024	Incumbent	116 days	Independent	2024	Minister of Health and Medical Education (2001–2005)	Mohammad Reza Aref	Pezeshkian

Timeline

Presidential age-related data

No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Time in office	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan
							Died	Age
1	Abolhassan Banisadr	Mar 22, 1933	46 years, 319 days Feb 4, 1980	48 years, 92 days Jun 22, 1981	1 year, 138 days	40 years, 109 days	Oct 9, 2021	88 years, 201 days
2	Mohammad-Ali Rajai	Jun 15, 1933	48 years, 48 days Aug 2, 1981	48 years, 76 days Aug 30, 1981	28 days	0 days[c]	Aug 30, 1981	48 years, 76 days
3	Ali Khamenei	Jul 16, 1939	42 years, 85 days Oct 9, 1981	50 years, 31 days Aug 16, 1989	7 years, 311 days	35 years, 97 days	–	85 years, 128 days
4	Akbar Rafsanjani	Aug 25, 1934	54 years, 356 days Aug 16, 1989	62 years, 343 days Aug 3, 1997	7 years, 352 days	19 years, 158 days	Jan 8, 2017	82 years, 136 days
5	Mohammad Khatami	Oct 14, 1943	53 years, 293 days Aug 3, 1997	61 years, 293 days Aug 3, 2005	8 years, 0 days	19 years, 110 days	–	81 years, 38 days
6	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	Oct 28, 1956	48 years, 279 days Aug 3, 2005	56 years, 279 days Aug 3, 2013	8 years, 0 days	11 years, 110 days	–	68 years, 24 days
7	Hassan Rouhani	Nov 12, 1948	64 years, 264 days Aug 3, 2013	72 years, 264 days Aug 3, 2021	8 years, 0 days	3 years, 110 days	–	76 years, 9 days
8	Ebrahim Raisi	Dec 14, 1960	60 years, 232 days Aug 3, 2021	63 years, 157 days May 19, 2024	2 years, 290 days	0 days[c]	May 19, 2024	63 years, 157 days
-	Mohammad Mokhber (Acting)	Jun 26, 1955	68 years, 328 days May 19, 2024	69 years, 32 days Jul 28, 2024	70 days	116 days	–	69 years, 148 days
9	Masoud Pezeshkian	Dec 29, 1954	69 years, 212 days Jul 28, 2024	(Incumbent)	116 days	(Incumbent)	–	69 years, 328 days

Notes

1. Article 131 of The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
   In case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the President or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, his first deputy shall assume, with the approval of the Leader, the powers and functions of the President. The Council, consisting of the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, head of the judicial power, and the first deputy of the President, is obliged to arrange for a new President to be elected within a maximum period of fifty days. In case of death of the first deputy to the President, or other matters which prevent him to perform his duties or when the President does not have a first deputy, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place.^[3]
2. Died in office.
3. Died in office

See also

• Supreme Leader of Iran
• President of Iran
• List of vice presidents of Iran
• List of heads of state of Iran
• Prime Minister of Iran
  • List of prime ministers of Iran
• List of speakers of the Parliament of Iran

References

1. "Assembly of Experts". Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
2. "Letter to Hashemi Rafsanjani and resignation from presidency" (in Persian). Khamenei.ir. 16 August 1989. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
3. "Constitution". Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
4. "Constitution". Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.