Mahmoud Alavi | |
|---|---|
 Alavi in 2016 | |
| Special Aide to the President of IranHead of the Council of Ethnic and Religious Affairs | |
| Assumed office 21 November 2024 | |
| President | Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Preceded by | Abdolsalam KarimiasAdvisor in the Affairs of Ethnic and Religious Minorities |
| Minister of Intelligence | |
| In office 15 August 2013 – 25 August 2021 | |
| President | Hassan Rouhani |
| Preceded by | Heydar Moslehi |
| Succeeded by | Esmaeil Khatib |
| Member of the Assembly of Experts | |
| In office 13 June 2009 – 20 May 2024 | |
| Constituency | Tehran province |
| Majority | 1,706,855 (37.92%) |
| Member of the Parliament of Iran | |
| In office 28 May 1992 – 27 May 2000 | |
| Constituency | Lamerd |
| Majority | 45,876 (63%)[1] |
| In office 17 September 1981[2] – 27 May 1988 | |
| Constituency | Larestan |
| Majority | 39,006 (62%)[3] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-05-04)4 May 1954 (age 70) Lamerd,Fars province,Imperial State of Iran |
| Political party | Resistance Front of Islamic Iran |
| Children | Mohsen,[4] Monireh |
| Alma mater | Ferdowsi University |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Branch/service | Islamic Republic of Iran Army |
| Years of service | 2000–2009 |
| Commands | Ideological−Political Organization |
Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi (Persian:محمود علوی; born 4 May 1954) is anIranianconservative politician who currently serves as theSpecial Aide to the President of Iran since 2024. He was formerlyminister of intelligence in first and second government ofHassan Rouhani.
Alavi was born in Lamerd,Fars province, in 1954.[5][6] He holds a PhD in Islamic jurisprudence and law fromFerdowsi University inMashad.[7]
Alavi is a cleric and a scholar ofIslamic jurisprudence.[8][9] He holds the religious rank ofAyatollah.[10] He is the former head of the political and ideological body ofthe Iranian Army to which he was appointed bythe Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei.[11] Alavi served in the post from 2000 to August 2009.[8][12] In addition, Alavi was Khamenei's special representative in the army until August 2009.[12] He also assumed the post of deputy defense minister.[6]
He served atthe Majlis as Tehran representative for four terms during the terms of former presidentsRafsanjani andKhatami.[13][14] He ran for office in the list of Resistance Front of the Islamic Revolution led byMohsen Rezaee inthe 2012 election.[15] However, Alavi's nomination was rejected bythe Guardian Council on the grounds that he did not have "practical commitment to Islam and the regime."[15][16]
He is a former member ofthe Assembly of Experts.[8][17] He served asHassan Rouhani's liaison officer for the city ofQom and the institutions there inthe 2013 presidential elections.[18] Alavi was designated as intelligence minister by Rouhani on 4 August 2013.[19] He was approved for the post on 15 August bythe Majlis with 227 Yes votes.[20]
Ali Reza Eshraghi ofthe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that Alavi is aprincipalist politician in the Iranian political arena.[16] He is, therefore, a conservative figure[21] and close toMohsen Rezaee.[11] Alavi publicly criticized theAli Akbar Rafsanjani's disqualification for the 2013 presidential election soon after the election.[8]
As Minister of Intelligence (July 2013 – August 2021) he perpetrated 6 human rights violations:
The 2017-2018 nationwide protests, known as the December 2017 protests, were large-scale demonstrations to protest against inflation and corruption, which began on 28 December 2017 in Mashhad and several cities in Khorasan province and quickly spread across Iran, including with harsher anti-government slogans. The crackdown on protesters resulted in the deaths of at least 25 protesters and several detainees.[23][24]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Intelligence and National Security 2013–2021 | Succeeded by |
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a Acting | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
