Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's record as a Revolutionary Guards air force command...
DUBAI - Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s record as a Revolutionary Guards air force commander, a war veteran and a national police chief has endeared him to Iran’s supreme leader and boosted his chances of becoming the next speaker of parliament after Friday’s election.
The Guardian Council, a hardline body that vets candidates, has all but ensured the parliamentary vote will usher in a majority of Khamenei loyalists by disqualifying moderates and leading conservatives from standing. Qalibaf’s chances of becoming speaker hinge on gaining the trust of hardliners, who struggled for days to reach consensus on a single slate for Tehran. Hardliners could still nominate a rival as speaker in coming months.
“Nothing can change under this establishment. It does not matter who wins this election,” said Ramin Sardari, 28, a jobless university graduate in Tehran. Qalibaf went on to win Ahmadinejad’s job as mayor of Tehran, a post he held for 12 years. He won a reputation as a pragmatic problem-solver, tackling Tehran’s acute infrastructure crisis and improving public transport.
A year later, when a bloody crackdown on protesting students precipitated nationwide unrest and forced the national chief of police to resign, Khamenei appointed Qalibaf to the post.
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