Ali Larijani

Who is Ali Larijani?

Ali Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the current chairman of the Parliament of Iran. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 15 August 2005 to 20 October 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, replacing Hassan Rouhani. Acceptance of Larijani's resignation from the secretary position was announced on 20 October 2007 by Gholamhossein Elham, the Iranian government's spokesman, mentioning that his previous resignations were turned down by President Ahmadinejad.

Larijani was one of the two representatives of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the council, the other being Hassan Rouhani. In his post as secretary he effectively functioned as the top negotiator on issues of national security, including Iran's nuclear program.