Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth child of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, entered the public record as a businessman and political figure born in Tehran in 1969. His trajectory encompasses technical education, roles in state-owned industry, and a prolonged period of legal and judicial entanglement centered within the Iranian institutional landscape.
Academic Background
Rafsanjani completed his secondary education at Nikan High School in 1987. His undergraduate studies took place at the University of Tehran, where he earned a bachelor's degree in telecommunication in 1992. He subsequently pursued advanced technical training, obtaining a master's degree in energy engineering from the Sharif University of Technology. His academic path also included doctoral studies in energy engineering at Islamic Azad University and, beginning in October 2010, research in oriental studies at Wolfson College, Oxford, focusing on the constitution of Iran.
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During his career, Rafsanjani served as the head of the state-owned enterprise Gaz Iran. In 2007, international legal scrutiny emerged regarding the oil firm Total S.A. Authorities in France investigated claims that the company paid approximately 60,000,000 euros, equivalent to 80,000,000 dollars, to secure a natural gas contract in the PSEEZ off-shore field between 1997 and 2003. Allegations linked these payments to bank accounts under his control. Rafsanjani denied these claims and pursued legal threats against publications reporting the connection.
Legal Proceedings and Imprisonment
Following a period of exile, Rafsanjani returned to Iran to address accusations of inciting unrest related to the 2009 election. He was arrested in September 2012 on multiple charges and briefly released in December of that year. Subsequent legal developments led to a sentence resulting in over seven years of incarceration. He was released from prison in January 2023.
Fast facts
- Born: 20 September 1969, Tehran
- Citizenship: Iran
- Father: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
- Graduated Nikan High School: 1987
- Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication: 1992
- Arrested: September 2012
- Released from prison: January 2023
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani study at university?
He studied telecommunication at the University of Tehran, energy engineering at Sharif University of Technology and Islamic Azad University, and oriental studies at Wolfson College.
Was he involved in the PSEEZ natural gas field contract?
He was accused of receiving funds from Total S.A. related to that contract during his time as head of Gaz Iran, though he denied the allegations.
Achievements
- Educated at University of Tehran and Sharif University of Technology
