Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Ali Akbar Hashemi Bahremani Rafsanjani was born in 1934 in town of Noug (district Rafsanjan) in province Kerman situated in South-East of Iran.

His father, Mirza Ali, wealthy mullah, used to be the biggest owner of pistachio plantations in the country. Ali Akbar inherited two gifts from this man, religious and commercial, which he used with equal success in future.

In age of six, Ali Akbar entered the school.  In 1948 he left his parents' home and went to Kum, a town sacred for Shiah moslems, with madrasah Faiziyyeh situated there, which was famed for ages for educating radical clerics.

There was a free choice to the taste of the student of religious tutors in Kum, and Rafsanjani preferred Ruhulla Musavi Khomeini, although at that time the future Aytollah and later, Imam, had no big recognition. He attended his classes with the big commitment. Since that time, religious, and then, political, career of Rafsanjani has been inseparably tied with Khomeini. In Kum he also met with many people, who later played significant role in revolutionary movement, including Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazari, who later was officially appointed as a successor to Imam Khomeini.

In early 50s, Rafsanjani enters for the first time in conflict with Shah regime.

Ten years later in situation of economical deterioration and progression of political crisis Shah regime resorted to social-economic reforms called "white revolution". Some of these reforms were undermining to then extensive power of religious clerics. The spiritual leader of Ali Akbar, Aytollah Khomeini has headed a mutiny in Kum, which was suppressed by regime. The organizers of this mutiny were exiled from the country, and the followers of Ayatollah, including Rafsanjani, were thrown to jail. Beginning from that period, he was imprisoned four times, tortured, was subject to insults and diminishing. He survived all this, and kept his commitment to his teacher. He demonstrated outstanding organiser skills in obscure time of underground activity.

Being an excellent speech maker, Rafsanjani maintained close contact with general public and, at the same time, with representative of "bazaar".

In periods of time between his arrests, he founded a publishing house, where he was publishing books on the matters of Islam and Iranian history.

In the mean time, he wrote several books himself, including one devoted to Palestinian problem, which, in view of close relationships between Shah regime and Israel, was banned for publishing in Iran. Connoisseur of poetry of the great Saadi and admirer of Amir Kabiri, liberal reformer-modernist of nineteenth century, Rafsanjani devoted to the latter a complimentary biography in 1967. In that biography he expressed his admiration with a man, who supported the western methods of modernization of state, including industrialization.This idea, after having emerged with him once, has never left him. Later, during his election campaign, in his manifesto he was stressing the importance of education, nurturing and scientific and technological development for the progress of his country.

"Only science and technology at the level of space rocket science can resolve our problems!", he was saying, "People should not think of it as of luxury of far future. No, we must see with all clarity that all this can bring us benefits right today.

"On 28 July of 1989 Hashemi-Rafsanjani was elected a President of Iran. He has always been considered as a moderate pragmatist as he has always been standing up for improvement of relationships with the Western countries.

After becoming the President of the country, he started to actively implement this line in his politics.

He is democratic in his relations and communication with people. He likes to meet with the Western media people. He does not get away from discussion of difficult problems, and he can inspire questions advantageous for himself. He instantly reacts to events, and has a capacity not only to predict them, but be pro-active on them. All Iranian sensations emanated as a rule from him.

Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani can serve as an etalon of Iranian, a one formed by many centuries of Islamic culture. Nationalist, intellectual and politician.