Ebrahim Raisi

Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the president of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024. A protégé of supreme leader Ali Khamenei and a Principlist, Raisi was the second and most recent Iranian president to die in office after Mohammad-Ali Rajai.

Raisi was the son-in-law of Mashhad Friday prayer leader and Grand Imam of Imam Reza shrine, Ahmad Alamolhoda. He began his clerical studies at age 15. In the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Raisi served in several positions in Iran's judicial system, including as Prosecutor of Karaj, Prosecutor of Hamadan and Deputy Prosecutor and Prosecutor of Tehran. Raisi was part of the Tehran branch of what has been called the "1988 Iran death commission". Under the direction of Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, thousands of Iranian political prisoners were executed by these commissions, and as a result of his involvement, Raisi earned himself the nickname: "Butcher of Tehran" and was accused by United Nations special rapporteurs and other organizations of crimes against humanity. He was Deputy Chief Justice (2004–2014), Attorney General (2014–2016), and Chief Justice (2019–2021). Raisi was elected to the Assembly of Experts from South Khorasan Province, for the first time in the 2006 election. He was Custodian and Chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, a bonyad, from 2016 until 2019.

Raisi ran for president in 2017 as the candidate of the conservative Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, losing to the moderate incumbent president Hassan Rouhani, 57% to 38%. Raisi successfully ran for president a second time in 2021 with 63% of the votes, succeeding Rouhani. Considered a hardliner in Iranian politics, Raisi's presidency saw deadlock in negotiations with the U.S. over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and large-scale protests throughout the country in late 2022, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September. During Raisi's term, Iran intensified uranium enrichment, hindered international inspections, joined SCO and BRICS, and supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Iran also launched several missile and drone attacks on Israel during the Gaza war and continued arming proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthi movement.