Ali Akbar Salehi

علی اکبر صالحی Ali Akbar Salehi
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 December 2010
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Deputy	Ramin Mehmanparast Abbas Araghchi
Preceded by	Manouchehr Mottaki
Head of Atomic Energy Organization
In office 16 July 2009 – 13 December 2010
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Deputy	Mohammad Ahmadian
Preceded by	Gholam Reza Aghazadeh
Succeeded by	Mohammad Ahmadian
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 Karbala, Iraq
Nationality	Iranian
Spouse(s)	Zahra Rad
Alma mater	American University of Beirut Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Religion	Islam

Ali Akbar Salehi (Persian: علی اکبر صالحی‎, born 24 March 1949) is an Iranian academic and the current minister of foreign affairs since 13 December 2010. Previous to his appointment as minister of foreign affairs, he was the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) from 16 July 2009 to 13 December 2010. As the head of the AEOI when Iran was facing increased scrutiny in light of International Atomic Energy Agency findings, Salehi was designated for financial sanctions and travel restrictions by the European Union and the United Kingdom. He was also the Iranian representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2005.

Early life and education

He was born on 24 March 1949 in Karbala, Iraq when his family was living in Iraq for business reasons. He has a BSc from the American University of Beirut and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he earned in 1977.

Academic career

Salehi was associate professor at and chancellor of the Sharif University of Technology and a member of the Academy of Sciences of Iran and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy. He served as the chancellor of the Sharif University of Technology from 1982 to 1985 and once again from 1989 to 1993. While chancellor, Salehi was involved in an attempt to obtain dual-use technologies from a European supplier, according to David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, citing some 1,600 telex documents from the 1990s. He was also chancellor of Imam Khomeini International University for two years (1988-1989).

An ISIS report claims the Physics Research Center acted as a front in the late 1980s and early 1990s to obtain illicit nuclear technologies. ISIS claims that, as head of Sharif University, was aware of purchases.

Political career

Permanent Representative to IAEA

Salehi was appointed as permanent representative of Iran to International Atomic Energy Agency by the then president Mohammad Khatami on 13 March 1997 and remained in post until 22 August 2005. On 18 December 2003, Salehi signed the Additional Protocol to the safeguard agreement, on behalf of Iran. He was replaced by Ali Asghar Soltanieh.

Deputy Secretary-General of OIC

Salehi was deputy secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference under Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu from 2007 to 2009. He resigned in July 2009 when was appointed as the head of AEAI.

Head of Atomic Energy Agency

On 16 July 2009, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Salehi as the new head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, replacing Gholam Reza Aghazadeh who resigned on 10 July 2009. Salehi resigned from post on 23 January 2011 when Ahmadinejad nominated him as foreign minister. On 13 February 2011, President Ahmadinejad appointed Fereydoon Abbasi as the head of Atomic Energy Organization to succeed Salehi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On 13 December 2010, Ahmadinejad dismissed Manouchehr Mottaki for unknown reasons and appointed Salehi in an acting capacity. Mottaki had been the foreign minister of Iran since 24 August 2005. He was the only minister who was not replaced in Ahmadinejad's cabinet after Ahmadinejad's reelection. On 23 January 2011, Ahmadinejad designated Salehi to become Foreign Minister to the Parliament. The Iranian Parliament voted him on 30 January and he became the foreign minister of Iran, gaining 146 positive votes.

Sanctions

The European Union and the Treasury of the United Kingdom had put Salehi into the sanction list as an asset freeze target on 18 November 2009 due to his previous involvement in Iran's nuclear programme. The EU waived this designation when he became foreign minister in 2010.

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Mohammad Raeesi	Ambassador of Iran to the IAEA 1997–2005	Succeeded by Ali Asghar Soltanieh
Political offices
Preceded by Gholam Reza Aghazadeh	Head of Atomic Energy Organization 2009–2010	Succeeded by Mohammad Ahmadian
Preceded by Manouchehr Mottaki	Minister of Foreign Affairs 2010–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Academic offices
Preceded by Abbas Anvari	Chancellor of Sharif University of Technology 1982–1985	Succeeded by Abbas Anvari
Preceded by Mahmoud Boroujerdi	Chancellor of Imam Khomeini International University 1988–1989	Succeeded by Gholamreza Shirazian
Preceded by Abbas Anvari	Chancellor of Sharif University of Technology 1989–1993	Succeeded by Mohammad Etemadi