Khatami, Mohammad, << kah TAH mee, moh HAM mad >> (1943-…), served as president of Iran from 1997 to 2005. He was known for his moderate views. For example, Khatami supported individual rights and a more open society in Iran, including a free press. He also called for closer economic ties between Iran and Western nations. His ability to bring about real change was limited, however. As president, Khatami had less power than the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is known as the faqih. Khatami’s views frequently brought him into conflict with Khamenei and other conservative members of Iran’s ruling Islamic clergy.
Seyyed Mohammad Khatami was born on Sept. 29, 1943, in Ardakan, near Yazd, in central Iran. He studied education, philosophy, and theology at schools in Isfahan, Qom, and Tehran and became an Islamic clergyman. From 1978 to 1980, Khatami headed the Islamic Center in Hamburg, West Germany (now Germany). In 1980 and 1981, he served in the Iranian parliament and as a newspaper editor. He was minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance from 1982 until 1992, when his tolerant position on freedom of the media led to his dismissal. He was then appointed to the less important position of head of the National Library.
