Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an Iranian engineer and politician who served as the sixth President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Before his presidency, he served as an academic at Iran University of Science and Technology, as an administrator in West Azerbaijan Province, as Governor-General of Ardabil Province (1993–1997), and as Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005). He was elected president in 2005, defeating Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a runoff, and was re-elected in 2009. During his presidency he also briefly served as Acting Intelligence Minister and Acting Petroleum Minister. Constitutional term limits prevented him from seeking a third consecutive term in 2013, and the Guardian Council later rejected his candidacies for the 2017, 2021, and 2024 elections. Since 2013 he has served on Iran's Expediency Discernment Council.