The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, stated that his country retaliated against Israel’s aggression on the basis of legitimate rights. Following these remarks, there is curiosity about the career and life of the Iranian President. So, who is Masoud Pezeshkian, and how old is he? Describing himself as a “reformist politician,” Masoud Pezeshkian was born on September 29, 1954, in the city of Mahabad, in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. His surname, Pezeshkian, means “doctors” in Persian, and he graduated from the Medical Faculty of Tabriz University. In 1973, after receiving his diploma, he moved to Zabol to fulfill his mandatory military service. It was during this time that he began to engage with medicine. Upon completing his service, he returned to his hometown, entered the medical faculty, and graduated with honors in general medicine. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Pezeshkian frequently visited the frontlines and was responsible for sending medical teams, as well as working as a combatant and doctor. Pezeshkian completed his General Practitioner course in 1985 and started teaching Physiology at the medical faculty. Following the war, he continued his education by specializing in general surgery at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. In 1993, he obtained a sub-specialty in cardiac surgery from Iran University of Medical Sciences. He later became a specialist in cardiac surgery and served as the rector of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 1994, holding this position for five years.

CAREER:

Pezeshkian’s political journey began in 1997 when he joined the administration of Mohammad Khatami as Deputy Minister of Health. Four years later, he was appointed as the Minister of Health and served from 2001 to 2005. Since then, he has been elected to the Iranian parliament representing Tabriz five times and served as the First Deputy Speaker of the parliament from 2016 to 2020. Pezeshkian is a Qur’an teacher and a reader of Nəḥj al-Balāgha, an important text for Shiite Muslims. He is also a member of the Iran-Turkey Friendship Association.

PERSONAL LIFE:

In 1993, Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his children in a traffic accident. He raised his remaining two sons and daughter alone and never remarried. His daughter, Zahra Pezeshkian, holds a master’s degree in chemistry from Sharif University of Technology and used to work at Jam Petrochemicals before the Ruhani government came to power.

PRESIDENCY:

He competed in the 2013 Iranian presidential election but withdrew, and he ran again in the 2021 Iranian presidential election but was rejected. Pezeshkian ran for and won the Iranian presidential election in 2024. He received 43% of the votes in the presidential elections held on June 29, advancing to the second round. In the second round, he won with 53.3% of the votes, becoming the President. On July 28, 2024, he was officially appointed as the President by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and took the oath before the Iranian parliament on July 30.