Ali Akbar Salehi

Ali Akbar Salehi
Vice President of Iran Head of Atomic Energy Organization
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 August 2013
President	Hassan Rouhani
Preceded by	Fereydoon Abbasi
In office 16 July 2009 – 13 December 2010
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Gholam Reza Aghazadeh
Succeeded by	Mohammad Ahmadian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 13 December 2010 – 15 August 2013
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Manouchehr Mottaki
Succeeded by	Mohammad Javad Zarif
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 Karbala, Iraq
Nationality	Iranian
Religion	Islam
Awards	Order of Courage (1st class) Order of Service (2nd class)
Academic background and work
Fields	Nuclear engineering Nuclear physics
Alma mater	American University of Beirut Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis	Resonance Region Neutronics of Unit Cells in Fast and Thermal Reactors (1977)
Doctoral advisor	Michael J. Driscoll
Institutions	Sharif University of Technology Imam Khomeini International University

Ali Akbar Salehi (Persian: علی‌اکبر صالحی‎‎, <phonos file="Ali Akbar Salehi from Iran pronunciation.ogg">pronunciation</phonos>; born 24 March 1949) is an Iranian academic, diplomat and the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He served as head of AEOI from 2009 to 2010 and was appointed to the post for a second time on 16 August 2013. Before his appointment of his current position, he was foreign affairs minister from 2010 to 2013. He was also the Iranian representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1998 to 2003.

Early life and education

Salehi was born in Karbala, Iraq, on 24 March 1949. He received a bachelor of science degree in physics from the American University of Beirut in 1971 and a PhD in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. Salehi is fluent in English and Arabic, in addition to his native Persian.

Career

Salehi speaking at Munich Security Conference

Salehi is full professor and was 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).

Salehi as head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran along with FM Zarif, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, in the "Salon Élysée" of the Beau-Rivage Palace (Lausanne, Switzerland), 16 March 2015

An ISIS (Institute for Science and International Security) 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.

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 the 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 Pirooz Hosseini.

Salehi was deputy secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference under Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu from 2007 to 2009. He resigned on 16 July 2009 when then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Salehi as the new head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, replacing Gholam Reza Aghazadeh who resigned on 10 July. Salehi resigned from office on 23 January 2011 when Ahmadinejad nominated him as foreign minister.

On 13 December 2010, Ahmadinejad dismissed Manouchehr Mottaki for unknown reasons and appointed Salehi in an acting capacity. On 23 January 2011, Ahmadinejad nominated Salehi to become foreign minister. The Iranian Parliament voted him on 30 January and he became the foreign minister of Iran, gaining 146 positive votes. 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. His term as foreign minister ended on 15 August 2013 when Mohammad Javad Zarif took the position in the elected President Hassan Rouhani's government. A day after, Rouhani appointed Salehi as head of Atomic Energy Organization for a second time on 16 August 2013. Salehi replaced Fereydoon Abbasi in the post.

Sanctions

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. Salehi and Ernest Moniz joined 2015 Geneva Iran and P5+1 nuclear talks to discuss more about technical aspects of Iran nuclear program.

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Mohammad Sadegh Ayatollahi	Ambassador of Iran to the IAEA 1998–2003	Succeeded by Pirooz Hosseini
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 2010–2013	Succeeded by Mohammad Javad Zarif
Preceded by Fereydoon Abbasi	Head of Atomic Energy Organization 2013–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