History - Iran - page 552

After Khomeini
When Ayatollah Khomeini died on 4 June 1989 his position as Supreme Leader passed to
the former president, Ali Khamenei. The presidency, which had previously been a largely
ceremonial post, was transformed with the election of the cleric Ali Akbar Hashemi Raf-
sanjani, who began a series of much-needed economic reforms. Despite being widely seen
as the richest - and most corrupt - man in the country, Rafsanjani was re-elected in 1993.
Social and religious conservatism remained firmly ingrained in Iranian society but do-
mestic policy took on a more pragmatic tone. This included an aggressive campaign to
curb sky-rocketing population growth through contraception and a greater efforts to bring
electricity, running water, telephone and sealed roads to rural areas long ignored under
royal rule.

Khatami & the Reformists
In 1997 the moderate, reform-minded Hojjat-ol-Eslam Sayyed Mohammad Khatami won
the presidency in a landslide. Almost everyone, and especially the ruling clerics, was
shocked. Khatami was a liberal by Iranian standards, but he was also an insider. He had
studied theology in Qom, had held important posts during the Iran-Iraq War and served as
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for 10 years until he was forced to resign in
1992 - for being too liberal.

His election sent an overwhelming message
of discontent to the ruling Islamic conservat-
ives and resulted in a spontaneous, unlegislated
liberalisation. Khatami promised 'change from
within', a policy of avoiding confrontation
with the clerics and engineering change from
within the theocratic system. When reformers
won a large majority in the majlis in 2000 and
Khatami was re-elected with 78% of the vote in 2001, hopes were high. But what the pub-
lic wanted and what Khatami and the majlis were able to deliver proved to be very differ-
ent. Of the hundreds of pieces of legislation the majlis passed during its four-year term,
more than 35% were vetoed by the conservatives on the Guardian Council ( Click here ) .
The conservative backlash didn't stop there. Reformist intellectuals were assassinated,
students beaten for protesting, dozens of reform-minded newspapers were closed and edit-
ors imprisoned. With the reformers either unable or too scared to institute their promised
reforms, the public lost faith in them and the idea of 'change from within'.

In 2004 the Guardian Council barred more than
2000 Reformist candidates, including 82 sitting
members, from majlis elections. Many Iranians
chose not to vote and conservatives were swept
back into power.