Mohammad-Reza Rahchamani

Mohammad-Reza Rahchamani
Rahchamani in 2018
Head of National Welfare Organization
In office 20 September 2001 – 5 September 2005
President	Mohammad Khatami
Preceded by	Gholamreza Ansari
Succeeded by	Abolhassan Faghih
Member of the Parliament
In office 28 May 1984 – 28 May 2000
Constituency	Sabzevar
Majority	94,867 (64.4%)
Personal details
Born	(1952-12-01)1 December 1952 Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan province, Imperial State of Iran
Died	9 March 2020(2020-03-09) (aged 67) Tehran, Iran
Cause of death	COVID-19
Political party	Islamic Association of Iranian Medical Society Islamic Iran Solidarity Party
Children	Mohsen Rahchamani
Alma mater	Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Mohammad-Reza Rahchamani (Persian: محمدرضا راه‌چمنی‎; 1 December 1952 – 9 March 2020) was an Iranian physician[1] and reformist politician. From 1984 to 2000, he represented Sabzevar in the Iranian Parliament.[1] During the early 2000s, he headed Iran's State Welfare Organization.[2]

Early life and education

Rahchamani was born in 1952 in Sabzevar and studied medicine.[1] There is no record of imprisonment for him before the Iranian revolution, and he is not an Iran–Iraq War veteran.[1]

Career

A founding member of the Islamic Iran Solidarity Party,[1] from 1998 to 2002 he was the party's secretary-general and in 2006 became chairman of the central council.[3] He was also a founding member of the Islamic Association of Iranian Medical Society.[4]

In 2020, as the secretary-general of the National Unity and Cooperation Party, he defied the decision of mainstream reformists for not taking part in the 2020 Iranian legislative election, by announcing a coalition of twelve reformist parties.[5]

Death

Rahchamani died at the age of 67 due to complications from COVID-19 on 9 March 2020.[6]

References

1. Boroujerdi, Mehrzad; Rahimkhani, Kourosh (2018). Postrevolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook. Syracuse University Press. p. 682. ISBN 9780815654322.
2. Dareini, Ali Akbar (11 July 2003), "Twins Return in Separate Coffins to Iran", Associated Press News, retrieved 14 February 2020
3. "Rah-Chamani elected Solidarity Party Central Council chairman", Tehran Times, 8 October 2006, retrieved 14 February 2020
4. "List of Legally Registerred Parties in Iran". Pars Times. 30 July 2000. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
5. "With Most Reformists Barred, Iran's Parliamentary Elections Offer Little Choice", RFE/RL, 8 February 2020, retrieved 14 February 2020
6. "Former Iranian MP dies of coronavirus". Tehran Times. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.

Government offices
Preceded by Gholamreza Ansari	Head of State Welfare Organization 2001–2005	Succeeded by Abolhassan Faqih
Party political offices
New title Party founded	Secretary-General of Islamic Iran Solidarity Party 1998–2002	Succeeded by Ebrahim Asgharzadeh
	Secretary-General of National Unity and Cooperation Party of Islamic Iran 2012–2020	Succeeded by TBD