Saeed Jalili

Early life and education

Jalili was born on September 1965 in Mashhad in northeastern Iran. He holds a PhD in political science from Imam Sadeq University and his doctoral thesis is entitled "The Foreign Policy of the Prophet Muhammad." After graduating, he served in the Iran–Iraq war as a member of the Basij volunteers of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. During fighting he was injured severely, losing the lower portion of his right leg in 1986. Upon this event he earned the title of "living martyr".

Career

Following the war, Jalili began working as a university lecturer at his alma mater. In 1989 Jalili began working at the ministry of foreign affairs in addition to his teaching post. From 1995 to 1996 he served as director of the inspection office at the ministry. In 2001, he was appointed senior director of policy planning in the office of supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Jalili was also made a member of the Supreme National Security Council in 2002. Following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency in August 2005, Jalili was appointed deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs. He was in office until October 2007. During the same period he also served as an advisor to Ahmedinejad.

On 20 October 2007, Jalili replaced Ali Larijani as secretary of the council and became responsible for international negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Jalili's term as secretary of the council ended on 10 September 2013 when Ali Shamkhani was appointed to the post. Immediately after leaving the office, he was appointed by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the Expediency Council as a member.

Views and activities

Jalili is a leading figure of the "neo-principalist" group in the Iranian political scene and a protégé of Mojtaba Khamenei. A United States State Department cable released by WikiLeaks in 2008 described how a European Union official who met Jalili call him 'a true product of the Iranian revolution'." Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, described Jalili as a tough negotiator who "believes strongly in Iran's nuclear program and its sovereign rights. He's not the sort of person to give major concessions."

In an interview with The Boston Globe in 2006, Jalili defended Iran's plans to develop nuclear energy, noting that, under the Shah and before the Islamic Revolution, US companies had contracts to build nuclear power plants in Iran. In 2013, Jalili stated that the 120 member states of the Non-Aligned Movement have repeatedly expressed support for Iran’s right to a peaceful nuclear energy program.

2013 presidential candidacy

Jalili was a candidate in the 2013 presidential elections, announcing his candidacy on 22 March 2013. He was supported by Front of Islamic Revolution Stability and also by Kamran Bagheri Lankarani, the party's main candidate who declined his candidacy in favor of Jalili. He fared poorly in the presidential election, placing 3rd, despite speculations that he was the favorite candidate of the Supreme Leader. He received 4,168,946 and was ranked third, behind president-elect Hassan Rouhani and runner up Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Personal life

Jalili is fluent in English, and Arabic. He married Fatemeh Sajjadi, a doctor of internal medicine, in 1992. They have one child, a son named Hamid. Jalili was a resident of Karaj until 2004. He is known for his simple living and aversion towards formality. He drives his own car to work.

Books

Influence

In 2009, Jalili was regarded as one of the 500 most influential Muslims by Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.