Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili

Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili
Chief Justice of Iran
In office 28 June 1981 – 30 June 1989
Appointed by	Ruhollah Khomeini
Preceded by	Mohammad Beheshti
Succeeded by	Mohammad Yazdi
Attorney-General of Iran
In office 1 June 1980 – 28 June 1981
Appointed by	Mohammad Beheshti
Preceded by	Mohammad Mehdi Amlashi
Succeeded by	Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi
Member of the Assembly of Experts
In office 15 August 1983 – 1 December 1991
Constituency	Tehran Province
Personal details
Born	28 January 1926 Ardabil, Iran
Died	23 November 2016 (aged 90) Tehran, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Assembly of Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers
Other political affiliations	Islamic Republican Party
Alma mater	Qom Seminary
Religion	Shia Islam
Website	Official website

Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili (Persian: عبدالکریم موسوی اردبیلی‎‎, 28 January 1926 – 23 November 2016) was an Iranian politician and Twelver shi'a marja.

Early life and education

He was born on 28 January 1926 in Ardabil. His father, Mir-Abdul Rahim was a cleric and his mother died when he was a child. His father sent him to Mula-Ebrahim School in 1940. He went to Qom for higher education in 1943 and was there until 1946. His teachers were Grand Ayatollah Kazem Haeeri and Mohammad-Reza Golpayegani. He traveled to Najaf in 1946 for cleric studies and studied Islam and religion. He was in Najaf until 1948 when his father died and he returned to Iran. He had also established Mofid University in 1989 and was its president until his death.

Political career

Ardebili was a supporter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and was a friend of his. He made speechs in support of Khomeini in the 1970s. After the Iranian Revolution, he became a founding member of the Islamic Republican party that was founded in 1979.^[1] Khomeini appointed him as chief of justice in 1981 after the impeachment of President Abulhassan Banisadr. As chief justice, he served as member of the temporary council of the Presidency, along with the Prime Minister and Speaker, carrying out the duties of the president for up to two months.^[2] In this position he was also acting President of Iran after the impeachment of Banisadr. When Khomeini died in 1989, Ardebili resigned as chief of justice and returned to Qom. He was a supporter of Green Movement. On 21 November 2016, Ardebili was taken to hospital with chest pain and went into a coma. He died on 23 November 2016 at the age of 90.

Personal life

Ardebili married twice. He had 10 children, 6 sons and 4 daughters.

References

1. Asayesh, Hossein; Adlina Ab. Halim; Jayum A. Jawan; Seyedeh Nosrat Shojaei (March 2011). "Political Party in Islamic Republic of Iran: A Review". Journal of Politics and Law. 4 (1). Retrieved 29 July 2013.
2. Ramazani, Rouhollah K. (Spring 1980). "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran". Middle East Journal. Middle East Institute. 34 (2): 181–204. JSTOR 4326018.

External links

• Is the Ayatullah a Heretic?, Time, Monday, 28 April 1980