Mohammad-Reza Bahonar

Mohammad-Reza Bahonar (Persian: محمدرضا باهنر, born 2 February 1952) is an Iranian principlist politician who was member of the Parliament of Iran for 28 years. He is also secretary general of Islamic Society of Engineers and the Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Mohammad-Reza Bahonar
First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran
In office 31 May 2011 – 28 May 2012
Preceded by	Hassan Aboutorabi Fard
Succeeded by	Hassan Aboutorabi Fard
In office 7 June 2004 – 31 May 2008
Preceded by	Mohammad-Reza Khatami
Succeeded by	Hassan Aboutorabi Fard
Member of Expediency Discernment Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 March 2002
Appointed by	Ali Khamenei
Chairman	Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Ali Movahedi-Kermani (Acting) Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Sadeq Larijani
Member of the Parliament of Iran[1]
In office 28 May 2004 – 28 May 2016
Constituency	Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr (8th-9th term) Ravar (7th term)
In office 28 May 1984 – 26 May 2000
Constituency	Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr (3rd-5th term) Baft (2nd term)
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-02) 2 February 1952 (age 73) Kerman, Iran
Political party	Islamic Society of Engineers[2]
Other political affiliations	Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader United Front of Principlists Islamic Republican Party (1979–1987)[3]
Spouse	Gohar Abdolrashidi (–2006, her death)[4]
Alma mater	Allameh Tabatabaei University University of Science and Technology

Early years

Bahonar was born on 2 February 1952 in Kerman. He is the brother of former Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar who was assassinated in 1981.^[5]

Career

Bahonar cofounded the Islamic Society of Engineers in 1991.^[5] He has been elected as a representative from Kerman and Tehran for six terms.^[5] He has also served three terms on the Expediency Council.^[5] He is considered a key member of the conservative alliance, and was considered a possible candidate for the post of the speaker or the leader of the conservative faction in the parliament. He later refused to run for the post of speaker possibly because of a deal made inside the conservative alliance, deciding to run instead for the post of deputy speaker. He became the first deputy speaker on 6 June 2004 with 188 votes out of 259. The other candidate for the post of deputy speaker was Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard, a representative from Qazvin who became the second deputy speaker with 173 votes.^{[citation needed]}

Following Hassan Rouhani's election as President, Bahonar was appointed by Chairman Ali Larijani as the parliament's liaison to the newly elected executive branch in transition mandate.^[6] On 25 December 2015, he announced he will retiring from his seat in Iranian Parliament after he declined to run in the 2016 election.

Attacking Iranian University students

In a speech at Shiraz University, Bahonar harshly attacked students of Amirkabir University who criticized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in December 2006. His lecture generated anger among the students. He also called for punishing the students, while accusing them of being sex and alcohol addicts.^[7]

Electoral history

Year	Election	Votes	%	Rank	Notes
1984[a]	Parliament	21,990	53.8	1st	Won[8]
1988[b]	Parliament Round 1	No Data Available			Went to Round 2
	Parliament Round 2	314,935	35.9		Won[9]
1992[b]	Parliament Round 1	No Data Available			Went to Round 2
	Parliament Round 2	506,998	49.4		Won[10]
1996[b]	Parliament Round 1	No Data Available			Went to Round 2
	Parliament Round 2	569,639	38.8		Won[11]
2000[b]	Parliament	451,343	15.39	41st	Lost[12]
2004[c]	Parliament	109,038	52.32	1st	Won[13]
2008[b]	Parliament	549,280	31.55	6th	Won[14]
2012[b]	Parliament Round 1	336,391	15.86	20th	Went to Round 2[15]
	Parliament Round 2	368,096	32.67	7th	Won[16]

1. Baft
2. Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
3. Kerman and Ravar