Mohammed-Reza Mahdavi Kani (25 August 1931 – 21 October 2014) was the Prime Minister of Iran from September to October 1981, succeeding Mohammad-Javad Bahonar and preceding Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Biography[]
Mohammed-Reza Mahdavi Kani was born on 25 August 1931 in the village of Kan in the Kingdom of Iran, located close to the capital of Teheran. He was a student under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the face of Shia Islam, after 1947 and became a leader of the struggle against Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi alongside his mentor and several other Islamist fundamentalists. In 1979, following the Iranian Revolution, he was made the leader of the Combat Clergy Association party of Iran's parliament and also held small titles such as Acting Minister of Justice in 1980, Minister of the Interior from 1980 to 1981, and acting Prime Minister after September 1981. He succeeded Mohammad-Javad Bahonar after the People's Mujahideen of Iran (Mujahideen-e-Khalq) killed Bahonar and President Mohammad-Ali Rajai, but Mir-Hossein Mousavi was chosen as the new president of Iran a month later in October. Kani was a member of the Council of Experts, advising the leaders of Iran on how to run the government, and Kani died on 21 October 2014 at the age of 83.