Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (August 25, 1934 – January 8, 2017) was one of the most influential politicians in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He served as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and was the chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council until his death. A pragmatic conservative, Rafsanjani played key roles in the 1979 revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and the post-war reconstruction. He was a close ally of Ayatollah Khomeini and later became a political kingmaker. His presidency focused on post-war reconstruction and economic liberalization. His family is one of the wealthiest in Iran, controlling a vast business empire. He died of a heart attack in 2017.