Hassan Rouhani

Hassan Rouhani (born 12 November 1948 in Sorkheh, Semnan Province, Iran) is an Iranian Twelver Shia cleric and politician who served as the seventh President of Iran from August 2013 to August 2021. Born Hasan Fereydoun, he adopted the clerical name Rouhani. He began his seminary studies in Qom at age thirteen, studying alongside figures who would later become prominent in the Islamic Republic. He simultaneously pursued secular education, earning degrees in law from Tehran University and later a doctorate in constitutional law from Caledonian University in Glasgow, Scotland.

He served in senior positions throughout the Islamic Republic's history, including as a member of parliament for five terms, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for 16 years, and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, during which time he agreed to a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment that was later criticized by hardliners. He was a close ally of former presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami and was associated with the reformist-pragmatist camp within the Islamic Republic.

As President, his most significant achievement was signing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal with the P5+1 world powers that provided Iran with relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. The deal was celebrated globally as a diplomatic breakthrough. However, US President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, severely damaging the Iranian economy and Rouhani's political standing. His second term was marked by economic hardship, the 2019 fuel protests, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He left office in August 2021 when Ebrahim Raisi was inaugurated.