Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, born 28 October 1956, also Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad, is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He became president on 6 August 2005, after winning the 2005 presidential election. Ahmadinejad became the first president of the Islamic Republic in twenty-four years who was not a religious cleric. Despite his title, he does not hold the highest constitutional office in Iran, which belongs to the Supreme Leader of Iran (Ali Khamenei), according to Article 113 of the Constitution of Iran. Prior to becoming president, Ahmadinejad was mayor of Tehran and governor general of Iran's Ardabil Province.

Ahmadinejad has been a critic of the US and Israel, and backs strengthening Iran's relations with Russia, Venezuela, Syria, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
On Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad has said it is for peaceful purposes. For that stated reason and others, Iran has refused to end nuclear enrichment despite United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for it to do so. Ahmadinejad argues that the sanctions imposed by the West over Iran's nuclear enrichment are illegal and that Iran will continue to abide by International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring of its nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad has also called for the dissolution of the state of Israel, and calls for free elections in the region. He believes that the Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future.

One of Ahmadinejad's most controversial statements was one in which, according to the initial Islamic Republic News Agency translation, he called for the "occupying regime" to be "wiped off the map," though the translation and interpretation of the comment is disputed. He has also been condemned for describing the Holocaust as a myth, which has led to accusations of anti-semitism; the interpretation of this quote is also disputed. In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad said “No, I am not against Jews, I respect them very much.” Ahmadinejad also clarified, "I'm not saying that [the Holocaust] didn't happen at all. This is not the judgment that I'm passing here."
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge. He issued a directive, according to which the Management and Planning Organization should be affiliated to the government.

Ahmadinejad began his political career as governor to both Maku and Khoy in West Azarbaijan Province during the 1980s. He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of Kurdistan Province for two years and was appointed as the governor general of Ardabil Province in 1993. In 1997, Mohammad Khatami removed Ahmadinejad from his position in Ardabil, and Ahmadinejad returned to teaching. In 2003, however, Ahmadinejad returned to the political scene after the City Council of Tehran appointed him to the position of mayor, after a 12 percent turnout led to the election of Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran's conservative candidates in Tehran.
During his mayorship, he reversed many of the changes put into effect by previous moderate and reformist mayors, putting religious emphasis on the activities of the cultural centers founded by previous mayors, going on the record with the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices, and suggesting that the bodies of those killed in the Iran–Iraq War be buried in major city squares of Tehran. Such actions were coupled with an emphasis on charity, such as distributing free soup to the poor.
After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was shortlisted in a list of 65 finalists for World Mayor in 2005 and was among 3 strong candidates for the top-10 list but became non-eligible because of his resignation. Out of the 550 nominated mayors, nine were from Asia.
He was not widely known when he entered the presidential election campaign, although he had already made his mark for rolling back earlier reforms. After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad resigned from his post as the mayor of Tehran. His resignation was accepted on 28 June 2005. He is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran). (wikipedia - zainuddinjambi.files.wordpress.com - vitalperspective.typepad.com - actdcmetro.files.wordpress.com)