Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old cardiac surgeon and a moderate member of the Iranian parliament, has been elected as Iran's new president, the country’s electoral authority said on Saturday, July 6.
He will replace Ebrahim Raisi, who tragically died in a helicopter crash last month.
Pezeshkian emerged victorious against his hardline conservative rival, Saeed Jalili, in Friday’s run-off presidential elections.
Pezeshkian's win represents hope for many Iranians who seek fewer social restrictions and a more pragmatic foreign policy.
With a focus on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact and promoting social liberalization and political pluralism, he is seen as a candidate who might foster better relations with world powers and address the country’s economic challenges.
Despite his moderate stance, Pezeshkian is committed to Iran’s theocratic rule and does not intend to challenge the policies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
However, he promises to influence the tone of Iran’s policies and bring some social freedoms.
Pezeshkian’s political career includes serving as a combatant and physician during the Iran-Iraq war and as health minister from 2001 to 2005.
A supporter of ethnic minority rights, he has also criticized the suppression of political and social dissent.
Tragically, Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his children in a car accident in 1994 and raised his surviving three children alone, choosing never to remarry.
