Who was Ebrahim Raïssi, the Iranian President who died in a plane crash?

Jane Anderson
Jane Anderson
Who was Ebrahim Raïssi, the Iranian President who died in a plane crash?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi died when the helicopter he was in crashed in Iran on Sunday. He was a key figure in contemporary Iranian politics, with a controversial presidency.

He was always wearing his black turban and a long religious cloak. Ebrahim Raïssi, The Iranian President died on Sunday May 19 following a helicopter crash in northwest Iran. The latter shaped the political and judicial landscape of the country for several years. He occupies several key positions, both economic, political and judicial. But this morning, Iranian media announced the death of their president as well as those of eight other passengers. Faced with this sudden event, the Iranian government assured that there would be no disruption in their country. Waiting for a presidential election within 50 daysthe Constitution provides that Ebrahim Raïssi be replaced by Mohammad Mokhber, first vice-president. A five-day national mourning was announced.

Ebrahim Raïssi or the butcher of Tehran

During his career, he quickly climbed the ranks. In the 1980sit plays a key role in trials and executions of political prisoners. This acts which earned him severe criticism from human rights defenders. In 1988he is a member of the “ commission of death » who oversaw a dark episode in Iranian history. In fact, he signed the death of 4,000 inmates serving their prison sentences by dynamiting one of the wings of Evin Prison in the middle of the night. It was these actions that gave him the nickname “ butcher of Tehran“, marking his public image.

A political rise from the age of 20

Ebrahim Raïssi was born on December 14, 1960 in Mashhadone of the Shiite holy cities of Iran. He grew up in a religious family and began theological studies at an early age. At the age of 15, he joined the Qom seminary, where he studied under several influential scholars. This religious training was the foundation of his political future until his death. For three decades, he progressed step by step after having been Attorney General of Karaj at the age of 20. This title came to him following the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A succession of positions of responsibility followed. Of prosecutor general of Tehran, he becomes deputy head of the Judicial Authority before being appointed Attorney General of Iran.

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From the Judiciary to the Presidency of Iran

After several experiences in the legal world, Raïssi was appointed in 2016 to head Astan Quds Razavi, a powerful and wealthy charitable foundation based in Mashhad. This position gives him a significant platform to strengthen his political influence. In 2017he introduces himself to the presidential election, but lost to outgoing President Hassan Rouhani. Despite this defeat, he continued to gain popularity and did not give up on his ambitions. In 2021, he presents himself again, and is elected on June 18. These elections are seen as a rreturn to the fundamental values ​​of the Islamic revolutionpromising to fight corruption, defend freedom of expression and strengthen the national economy. Recently, the country’s legislative elections have strengthened the power of the Ayatollah.

Raïssi: a mandate marked by internal and international challenges

Raisi’s tenure was characterized by considerable challenges. Within his country, he had to face a economic crisis exacerbated by Western sanctions and galloping inflation. His efforts to revitalize the economy focused on achieving self-sufficiency. But its cooperation with China and Russia also played an important role. Moreover, Putin and Xi Jinping spoke about this “great loss”. From September 2022Iran also faces a protest movement after the death of Masha Amini by the moral police.

In recent months, sinceattack of October 7the Iranian president also presented himself as a resolute opponent of Israelenemy of the Islamic Republic. In this way, Iran brought its support for Hamas since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The country even launched an attack against Israel in April with the sending of 350 drones and missiles. But most of them had been intercepted by several allied countries, such as the United States and France. A feared political figure, Ebrahim Raïssi even appeared on the American blacklist of Iranian officials sanctioned for complicity in human rights violations.

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