KUALA LUMPUR: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, was a hardliner and seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A helicopter carrying him and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed as it was crossing mountainous terrain in heavy fog on Sunday.
He was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran's border with the Azerbaijan Republic.
Here are some key facts about Raisi:
* He as the eighth President of Iran, and held office from Aug 3, 2021 – May 19, 2024
* Raisi was born on Dec 14, 1960 to a cleric's family in Noghan, district of Mashhad
* He was appointed Deputy prosecutor of Tehran in 1985 and moved to the capital
* In early 1988, he was placed in the attention of Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini and received special provisions to address legal issues in some provinces
* In same year, Raissi was named as one of the four persons involved in the executions of Iranian political prisoners
* He became a prosecutor from 1989 to 1994.
* From 2004 until 2014, Raisi served as First Deputy Chief Justice of Iran
* Appointed as Attorney-General of Iran in 2014 until 2016
* Raisi was one of nine Iranian officials listed in November 2019 subjected to sanctions by the United States Department of State due to alleged human rights abuses
* Raisi was named as one of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces presidential candidates in February 2017 but lost to Hassan Rouhani
* In 2021, Raisi ran again for the presidency and won the election, getting 63 per cent of the vote
* Raisi was married to Jamileh Alamolhoda, and had two daughters and two grandchildren.