Mohammad Khatami

Former President of Iran

Seyed Mohammad Khatami served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 2, 2005 and was succeeded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Also officially titled Hojjat-ol-Eslam wa-l-Moslemin, an honorific title given to middle-ranking mujtahid Shia clerics.

The son of a respected ayatollah, Mr. Khatami was born on September 29, 1943 in the Iranian city of Ardakan within the Yazd province.

An Iranian intellectual, philosopher and political figure, Mohammed Khatami has previously served posts including two terms as minister of culture and Islamic guidance, cultural adviser to his predecessor — former President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani — and head of Iran’s National Library.

Mohammed Khatami speaks English, German and Arabic in addition to Persian and has written a number of books in various fields, including: “Fear of the Wave” (1993), “From the World of the City to the City of the World” (1994) and “Faith and Thought Trapped by Despotism” (forthcoming).