First VP hails Rafsanjani as man of prudence
A ceremony was held in Tehran on Tuesday to mark the first death anniversary of former Iranian president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who was hailed as “a man of prudence and tolerance”.
Speaking at the memorial ceremony, First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said Ayatollah Rafsanjani had always plans for hard days and “no one had ever seen him desperate”.
Jahangiri said Rafsanjani played “an influential role” in the course of the fight for the establishment of the Islamic Republic and had a key part in every critical juncture following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The official added that the late veteran cleric had a deep insight of Iran and spared no effort to develop the country. Jahangiri praised Rafsanjani as a “revolutionary with comprehensive views” who always remained loyal to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution. Rafsanjani died on January 8, 2017 after suffering a heart attack. He was 82. Rafsanjani helped establish the Combatant Clergy Association in 1977, which proved instrumental in the victory of the Islamic Revolution two years later.
He became Iran’s first speaker of Parliament after the revolution, serving until 1989. In the same year, he was elected president, in which position he functioned until 1997.