Ahmad Tavakkoli
Iranian conservative politician (1951–2025)
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Ahmad Tavakkoli (Persian: احمد توکلی; 5 March[citation needed] 1951 – 23 July 2025) was an Iranian conservative and principlist politician and journalist. He was a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.[5] Also he was the managing-director of Alef news website[6] and founder of the corruption watchdog, non-governmental organization Justice and Transparency Watch.[7]
Ahmad Tavakkoli | |
|---|---|
احمد توکلی | |
Tavakkoli in 2014 | |
| Member of Expediency Discernment Council | |
| In office 14 August 2017 – 23 July 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Ali Khamenei |
| Chairman | Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Sadeq Larijani |
| President of the Majlis Research Center | |
| In office 1 July 2004 – 1 July 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Reza Khatami |
| Succeeded by | Kazem Jalali |
| Minister of Labour | |
| In office 2 November 1981 – 2 August 1983 | |
| President | Ali Khamenei |
| Prime Minister | Mir-Hossein Mousavi |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Mir-Mohammad Sadeqi |
| Succeeded by | Abolqasem Sarhadizadeh |
| Member of the Parliament of Iran | |
| In office 28 May 2004 – 28 May 2016 | |
| Constituency | Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr |
| Majority | 776,979 |
| In office 28 May 1980 – 12 November 1981 | |
| Constituency | Behshahr |
| Majority | 28,850 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 March 1951[citation needed] Behshahr, Iran |
| Died | 23 July 2025 (aged 74) Tehran, Iran |
| Party | Front of Transformationalist Principlists[1] |
Other political affiliations | Islamic Republican Party Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization[2] |
| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
| Signature |  |
Tavakkoli was a representative of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr electoral district in the parliament and the director of the Majlis Research Center.[8]
Life and career
Tavakkoli was the minister of labour under Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a parliament representative from Behshahr, and a presidential candidate in two of the presidential elections in Iran (running against Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami).[9]
Tavakkoli temporarily left politics after the leftist opposition forced him out of the ministry of labour. He founded Resalat, a conservative newspaper, and later left Iran to study economics in the UK, where he received his PhD.
Views and personal life
Tavakkoli was a critic of a capitalist economy, and backed the government's role in controlling the economy. He was a cousin of the Larijani brothers, including Ali Larijani and Mohammad Javad Larijani.
Tavakkoli was also a fierce critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[10] On 2 March 2011, PBS's Tehran Bureau reported that Tavakkoli criticized the then President for mentioning only Iran and not Islam in recent speeches.[11]
Tavakkoli died of a heart attack in Tehran, on 23 July 2025, at the age of 74.[12]
Electoral history
| Year | Election | Votes | % | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980[a] | Parliament | 28,850 | 50.2 | 1st | Won[13] |
| 1993 | President | 3,972,201 | 24.3 | 2nd | Lost |
| 2000[b] | Parliament | 382,867 | 13.06 | 51st | Lost[14] |
| 2001 | President |  4,393,544 |  15.6 | 2nd | Lost |
| 2004[b] | Parliament | 776,979 | 39.40 | 2nd | Won[15] |
| 2008[b] | Parliament | 568,459 | 32.65 | 4th | Won[16] |
| 2012[b] | Parliament Round 1 | 481,012 | 22.69 | 7th | Went to Round 2[17] |
| Parliament Round 2 | 404,595 | 35.91 | 3rd | Won[18] | |
| 2016[b] | Parliament | 862,723 | 26.56 | 34th | Lost[19] |
