Who is Masoud Pezeshkian? Meet the reformist who promised to ease the headscarf law and will be Iran’s next president

Reformist candidate and heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian has emerged victorious in Iran’s presidential runoff election. He had promised to build ties with Western countries and ease enforcement of Iran’s mandatory headscarf law. His rival, hard-liner Saeed Jalili, failed to run for president.

The elections saw the participation of around 30 million voters, with Pezeshkian receiving more than 17 million votes and Jalili more than 13 million votes, according to Iran’s electoral authority.

Who is Masoud Pezeshkian?

Born in Mahabad, Iran, on September 29, 1954, Pezeshkian is a man of diverse ethnic background who has shaped his appreciation of Iran’s cultural mosaic. After his military service during the Iran-Iraq War, he pursued a career as a renowned cardiac surgeon and later became the director of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

Pezeshkian’s life took a tragic turn in 1994, when a car accident claimed the lives of his wife, Fatemeh Majidi, and one of his daughters. This event marked his entry into politics, where he served as deputy health minister and later health minister under President Mohammad Khatami. Throughout his political career, Pezeshkian sought to balance his reformist ideals with the constraints of Iran’s theocratic system.

Take a stand against Iran’s controversial hijab law

Following Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022, Pezeshkian openly criticized the incident, saying: “It is unacceptable in the Islamic Republic to arrest a girl because of her hijab and then hand over her corpse to her family.”

In a televised debate, he addressed the government’s failings, saying: “We are losing the support of society because of our behaviour, the high prices, the way we treat girls and because we censor the Internet. People are unhappy with us because of our behaviour.”

Low voter turnout

The June 28, 2024 presidential election, which pitted Pezeshkian against hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, was marked by the lowest turnout in Iran’s history. Pezeshkian’s campaign, backed by moderate and reformist figures, advocated for improved relations with the West, a return to the nuclear deal, and a more lenient approach to the hijab law. Despite his efforts, voter turnout remained low, with many Iranians expressing disillusionment with the ruling system.

Pezeshkian acknowledged this sentiment during his last debate with Jalili, saying: “With all the loud arguments between me and him, only 40 percent (of eligible voters) voted. Sixty percent don’t accept us. So people have problems with us.”

Throughout his campaign, he has refrained from promising radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy and has consistently recognized Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the ultimate authority on state affairs.

The elections came a day after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May. Raisi, widely regarded as a close confidant and mentor of Khamenei, was seen as a potential successor to the supreme leader’s post. However, his legacy has been tarnished by his involvement in Iran’s 1988 mass executions and his role in the violent suppression of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.