Last Updated on: 9th October 2021, 03:12 pm
Who is Abolhassan Banisadr? Biography, Wiki
Abolhassan Banisadr was the first president of Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution to flee Tehran after being accused of challenging the growing power of the clergy when the nation became a theocracy; died on Saturday.
In the middle of a sea of Shiite clerics dressed in black, Banisadr was distinguished by his Western outfits and his French origin that it was the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre who confided in him his conviction that he would be the first president of Iran for about 15 years would have happened sooner.
These differences only isolated him when the nationalist attempted to establish a socialist-style economy in Iran, supported by his deep Shia beliefs prompted by his clerical father.
Abolhassan Banisadr’s Age
His current age was 88 years.
Iran’s First President Abolhassan Banisadr Has Died
Banisadr, the first Iranian president after the 1979 Islamic revolution, has died at the age of 88, local media reported.
As per the statement released by his family, he died in a Paris hospital following a prolonged illness.
His Professional Career
Prior to the presidency, Banisadr was a foreign minister in the transitional government formed shortly after the abolition of the monarchy in Iran.
Banisadr did not stay in office for long. In 1981 he was indicted, allegedly for his liberal policies and his opposition to the Islamic clergy.
Banisadr would never consolidate the government he would have led because events beyond his control, such as the hostage-taking at the American embassy and the invasion of Iran by Iraq, only served to add to the post-revolutionary turmoil.
Real power remained firmly in the hands of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, for whom Banisadr worked in French exile and Tehran followed amid the revolution.
But Khomeini would sack Banisadr after just 16 months in power and send him back to Paris, where he would stay for decades.
“It was like a child watching my father become an alcoholic,” Banisadr later said of Khomeini. “Drugs this time was power.”
