Hassan Rouhani

Born Hassan Fereydoun on 12 November 1948, Rouhani moved through Iran's post-revolution establishment as cleric, diplomat, and parliamentarian - deputy speaker of the Majlis, then Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005, where he led nuclear talks with the UK, France, and Germany. He registered for the presidency in May 2013 on a platform of economic repair, better relations with the West, and a civil rights charter, and won in June with strong urban support. Time named him one of the hundred most influential that year. He pushed modest openings - female spokespeople, freer information - and won re-election in 2017 with 57 percent. But Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who had backed him, grew cold over Rouhani's negotiating stance on the nuclear deal, and when his second term ended in 2021 no senior post followed. The New York Times floated him as a possible successor to Khamenei before Mojtaba Khamenei, the Leader's son, was chosen instead.