Ghalibaf Mayor of Tehran could become a presidential contender

**Nafass** · 31-01-08, 11:48

By Alan Cowell
Published: January 25, 2008

DAVOS, Switzerland: The annual economic gathering here attracts not only those with power in business and politics but offers a springboard for those who wish to wield it.

Among the contenders in attendance this year is Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the 46-year-old mayor of Tehran, who is being urged by some to run for the presidency of Iran next year as an "authoritarian modernizer."

The idea is that while Ghalibaf comes from the hard-line Islamic revolution tradition - he was once a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards - he is part of an emerging group of politicians who consider President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be harming the country's economy through his acerbic anti-Western rhetoric and isolationist policies.

So, will he run? the mayor was asked in an interview Friday in a suite at his hotel below the dazzling ski slopes that rise from this Swiss village.

"The most important thing is the will of the people," he said, declining to be more specific. "It is a long time remaining to the elections. Only time will tell." But, if he were to run, he said, he would campaign for greater openness toward the outside world to attract more foreign investment and so reduce unemployment.

The idea of a Tehran mayor becoming president is not improbable.

Ahmadinejad was also the capital's mayor, and Ghalibaf suggested that his achievements since his election as mayor in 2005 - improving public transportation projects and creating local councils - would stand him in good stead.

In the two and a half years that he has been in office, Ghalibaf has built numerous bridges and highways, fixed sidewalks and paved streets and has earned himself a reputation as someone who gets things done. As police chief, he enforced mandatory seat belts and orderly driving regulations in a city not known for either.

According to his official biography, Ghalibaf fought Saddam Hussein's forces in the Iran-Iraq war for eight years and became a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards. The biography also describes him as an airplane pilot, a former presidential contender (he ran against Ahmadinejad in 2005) and an academic.

He denied in the interview that he was a "military man." But when Ghalibaf was Tehran's police chief, reform-minded Iranians saw him as a hard-liner because he signed a letter with other Revolutionary Guards commanders, threatening to intervene unless the authorities quelled a pro-democracy student uprising.

Against that, his aides said, he was the first police chief since the Iranian Revolution to bring female officers into the force.

Ghalibaf did not take issue with the description of "authoritarian modernizer." Before making an administrative decision, he said, he consults widely but, once the decision is made, "we go forward strongly."

Within Iranian politics, Ghalibaf did not seem prepared to criticize the current government openly.

"The government of President Ahmadinejad is elected by the Iranian people and we respect it," he said. But, "we are different on some issues" including the management of power and economic relations with outsiders.

"We would be more open," an aide said.

That offer of openness, however, did not extend to the United States, where Ghalibaf seemed to adhere to the Iranian orthodoxy requiring Washington to change its attitude to Tehran before the deep animosities between them could be eased.

"If the United States can change its unilateral approach and replace it with a bilateral approach, then we can have dialogue," he said. An aide explained that the terminology meant Iran wanted the United States to treat it as an equal partner, not as a renegade nation to be brought into line.

The deepest gulf between the two concerns Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Ghalibaf seemed as insistent as any other Iranian official in his argument that his country neither sought nuclear weapons, as western nations say it does, nor threatened its neighbors.

"Iran is not a threat for other countries," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "If Iran needs to defend itself, it can use conventional weapons to resist any attack. We don't need any atomic weapons or unconventional weapons. In our Islamic belief, these kind of things are forbidden."

Ghalibaf said he had come to Davos to convince foreigners that "in Tehran they can find stable economic opportunities and in Tehran we have got security."

Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Tehran.

miladoooo · 31-01-08, 11:49

ki mikhad ghali bebafe

Lt Columbo · 31-01-08, 11:50

ba makhmalbaf bishtar movafegham

niroo_entezami · 31-01-08, 11:57

VOTE REFORMISTS, OTHERWISE VOTE GHALIBAF

**Nafass** · 31-01-08, 11:58

	Quote: Originally Posted by niroo_entezami
	VOTE REFORMISTS, OTHERWISE VOTE GHALIBAF

Beh nazar ke khaeli khoob miad

niroo_entezami · 31-01-08, 12:00

sorry aziz mitooni linkesho post koni lotfan?

niroo_entezami · 31-01-08, 12:01

	Quote: Originally Posted by Nafass
	Beh nazar ke khaeli khoob miad

are kheyli karesh doroste, vala harkiam biad to kar az in ahmadinejad behtare..martike mamlekato kharab kard

**Nafass** · 31-01-08, 12:02

	Quote: Originally Posted by niroo_entezami
	sorry aziz mitooni linkesho post koni lotfan?

Mayor of Tehran could become a presidential contender - International Herald Tribune

niroo_entezami · 31-01-08, 12:04

	Quote: Originally Posted by Nafass
	Mayor of Tehran could become a presidential contender - International Herald Tribune

dastet dard nakone aziz

boback · 31-01-08, 12:25

	Quote: Originally Posted by Nafass
	Beh nazar ke khaeli khoob miad

azizam, in hamoon harfaye tekraraie hamishegye, hala hanooz nakhondamesh, ama midoonam chie...

31-01-08, 11:48	#1 (permalink)
Nafass Cupid Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 19,385 Credits: 50,813 Thanks: 7,396 Thanked 11,037 Times in 3,723 Posts	Ghalibaf Mayor of Tehran could become a presidential contender By Alan Cowell Published: January 25, 2008 DAVOS, Switzerland: The annual economic gathering here attracts not only those with power in business and politics but offers a springboard for those who wish to wield it. Among the contenders in attendance this year is Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the 46-year-old mayor of Tehran, who is being urged by some to run for the presidency of Iran next year as an "authoritarian modernizer." The idea is that while Ghalibaf comes from the hard-line Islamic revolution tradition - he was once a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards - he is part of an emerging group of politicians who consider President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be harming the country's economy through his acerbic anti-Western rhetoric and isolationist policies. So, will he run? the mayor was asked in an interview Friday in a suite at his hotel below the dazzling ski slopes that rise from this Swiss village. "The most important thing is the will of the people," he said, declining to be more specific. "It is a long time remaining to the elections. Only time will tell." But, if he were to run, he said, he would campaign for greater openness toward the outside world to attract more foreign investment and so reduce unemployment. The idea of a Tehran mayor becoming president is not improbable. Ahmadinejad was also the capital's mayor, and Ghalibaf suggested that his achievements since his election as mayor in 2005 - improving public transportation projects and creating local councils - would stand him in good stead. In the two and a half years that he has been in office, Ghalibaf has built numerous bridges and highways, fixed sidewalks and paved streets and has earned himself a reputation as someone who gets things done. As police chief, he enforced mandatory seat belts and orderly driving regulations in a city not known for either. According to his official biography, Ghalibaf fought Saddam Hussein's forces in the Iran-Iraq war for eight years and became a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards. The biography also describes him as an airplane pilot, a former presidential contender (he ran against Ahmadinejad in 2005) and an academic. He denied in the interview that he was a "military man." But when Ghalibaf was Tehran's police chief, reform-minded Iranians saw him as a hard-liner because he signed a letter with other Revolutionary Guards commanders, threatening to intervene unless the authorities quelled a pro-democracy student uprising. Against that, his aides said, he was the first police chief since the Iranian Revolution to bring female officers into the force. Ghalibaf did not take issue with the description of "authoritarian modernizer." Before making an administrative decision, he said, he consults widely but, once the decision is made, "we go forward strongly." Within Iranian politics, Ghalibaf did not seem prepared to criticize the current government openly. "The government of President Ahmadinejad is elected by the Iranian people and we respect it," he said. But, "we are different on some issues" including the management of power and economic relations with outsiders. "We would be more open," an aide said. That offer of openness, however, did not extend to the United States, where Ghalibaf seemed to adhere to the Iranian orthodoxy requiring Washington to change its attitude to Tehran before the deep animosities between them could be eased. "If the United States can change its unilateral approach and replace it with a bilateral approach, then we can have dialogue," he said. An aide explained that the terminology meant Iran wanted the United States to treat it as an equal partner, not as a renegade nation to be brought into line. The deepest gulf between the two concerns Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Ghalibaf seemed as insistent as any other Iranian official in his argument that his country neither sought nuclear weapons, as western nations say it does, nor threatened its neighbors. "Iran is not a threat for other countries," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "If Iran needs to defend itself, it can use conventional weapons to resist any attack. We don't need any atomic weapons or unconventional weapons. In our Islamic belief, these kind of things are forbidden." Ghalibaf said he had come to Davos to convince foreigners that "in Tehran they can find stable economic opportunities and in Tehran we have got security." Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Tehran. Last edited by Nafass; 31-01-08 at 11:52.

31-01-08, 11:49	#2 (permalink)
miladoooo Venus Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 18,411 Credits: 25,262 Thanks: 5,393 Thanked 1,008 Times in 820 Posts	ki mikhad ghali bebafe __________________ Ey Dost Dar Rozeye Ghalb Joz Gole Eshgh Makar

31-01-08, 11:50	#3 (permalink)
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31-01-08, 11:57	#4 (permalink)
niroo_entezami Triple Ace Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Niyavaran, Shariati, Tajrish Posts: 167 Credits: 742 Thanks: 28 Thanked 43 Times in 24 Posts	VOTE REFORMISTS, OTHERWISE VOTE GHALIBAF

31-01-08, 12:00	#6 (permalink)
niroo_entezami Triple Ace Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Niyavaran, Shariati, Tajrish Posts: 167 Credits: 742 Thanks: 28 Thanked 43 Times in 24 Posts	sorry aziz mitooni linkesho post koni lotfan?