Profile: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been elected as Iran's new president, was an obscure figure when he was appointed mayor of Tehran in the spring of 2003.
He was not much better known when he entered the presidential election campaign, although he had already made his mark as Tehran mayor for rolling back reform.
He reportedly spent no money on his campaign - but he was backed by powerful conservatives who used their network of mosques to mobilise support for him, the BBC's Iran analyst Sadeq Saba says.
He also has the support of a group of younger, second-generation revolutionaries known as the Abadgaran, or Developers, who are strong in the Iranian parliament, the Majlis.
Revolutionary credentials
He was born in Garmsar, near Tehran, in 1956, the son of a blacksmith, and holds a PhD in traffic and transport from Tehran's University of Science and Technology, where he was a lecturer.
But there is confusion about his role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Several of the 52 Americans who were held hostage in the US embassy in the months after the revolution say they are certain Mr Ahmadinejad was among those who captured them.
He insists he was not there, and several known hostage-takers - now his strong political opponents - deny he was with them.
His website says he joined the Revolutionary Guards voluntarily after the revolution, and he is also reported to have served in covert operations during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Beard campaign
When he became mayor of Tehran, the former revolutionary guard curtailed many of the reforms put in place by the moderates who had run the city before him.
Iran's outgoing reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, barred Mr Ahmadinejad from attending cabinet meetings, a privilege normally accorded to mayors of the capital.
The mayor shut down fast-food restaurants and required male city employees to have beards and long sleeves.
And he took down an advertising campaign showing UK footballer David Beckham - the first Western celebrity used to promote a product in the country since the revolution.
Man of the people
But he has a populist streak, calling his personal website Mardomyar, or the people's friend.
He has a reputation for living a simple life and campaigned against corruption.
He defends his country's nuclear programme, which has worried the US and European Union.
"They will not allow us to progress easily but we should not surrender to their will," his website says.
He has been cautious about re-establishing formal ties with the US, which were broken in 1979.
"America's unilateral move to sever ties with the Islamic Republic was aimed at destroying the Islamic revolution... America was free to sever its ties with Iran, but it remains Iran's decision to re-establish relations with America."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...st/4107270.stm
Published: 2005/07/01 10:09:50 GMT
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