Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (né Sabbaghian; born 28 October 1956) is an Iranian politician who served as the president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Ideologically a principlist and nationalist, he was a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as the mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005, reversing many of his predecessor's reforms.

An engineer and teacher from a poor family, he was ideologically shaped by thinkers such as Navvab Safavi, Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, and Ahmad Fardid. After the Iranian Revolution, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity. Appointed a provincial governor in 1993, he was replaced along with all other provincial governors in 1997 after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching. Tehran's council elected him mayor in 2003. He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors. His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became president on 3 August 2005.

During his presidency, Ahmadinejad was a controversial figure both in Iran and worldwide. He was criticized domestically for his economic policies, and was accused of disregard for human rights by organizations in North America and Europe. Outside of Iran, he was criticized for his hostility towards Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States and other Western and Arab states. In 2007, Ahmadinejad introduced a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge. His election to a second term in 2009 was widely disputed, and led to widespread protests domestically and criticism from Western countries. He repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel. He also declared the Holocaust to be a myth, later claiming that promoting Holocaust denial was one of the major achievements of his presidency. He was a strong proponent of Iran's nuclear program.