Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, << ah `mah` dih nee ZHAHD, mah MOOD >> (1956-…), was president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Before his election, he was mayor of Tehran. He was known for his conservative views and simple lifestyle.
Ahmadinejad was born in Garmsar, near Tehran, on Oct. 28, 1956. He belonged to a radical student group while he was a university student in Tehran. He has a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology, where he has also taught.
In the 1980’s, during Iran’s war with Iraq, Ahmadinejad served in the Revolutionary Guards. Since the 1980’s, he has held a number of political posts, including adviser to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and governor of the Ardabil province. He was appointed mayor of Tehran by Tehran’s city council in 2003. As mayor, he reversed many changes that moderate mayors before him had put into effect. In 2005, he resigned to run for president. He defeated Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president, in a runoff election. In 2009, Ahmadinejad was reelected president, defeating reformist candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi.
