Mostafa Moeen
Mostafa Moeen (; born 1 April 1951 in Najafabad, Isfahan) is an Iranian politician, professor of pediatrics, and a human rights activist who is currently founder and president of Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran. He was a presidential candidate for the 2005 Iranian presidential election. His campaign enjoyed the support of some reformist parties and organizations, headed by the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF). Currently, he is the director of Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). Early life. Moeen was born in 1951 in the city of Najaf  Abad. At age 18, he was accepted to Shiraz University medical school, and after the Iranian Revolution, he was appointed as the president of Shiraz University. He was elected as representative of Shiraz in mid-term elections of the first Parliament of Iran in 1982. Ministration term. Moeen was the Minister of Culture and Higher Education under President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1993) and President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2000), and later became the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology (the same post, with a changed name) under President Khatami (2000-2003). As a Minister, Moeen resigned after the student protests  of July 1999, and again in July 2003 after he failed to persuade the Council of Guardians to redirect his ministry towards his vision of higher "scientific productivity". Presidential ambition. On October 12, 2004, Mir-Hossein Mousavi declined to run for the presidency, causing the Islamic Iran Participation Front to consider Moeen instead. IIPF members soon announced his nomination. On December 29, 2004, Moeen agreed to run for the presidency, as the first major candidate to announce his participation. Contrary to the general expectations and the poll results, Moeen, who was expected to be among the first three most popular  candidates in the first round, fared poorly and ranked fifth in the end, with the election resulting in a run-off between Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Moeen's present campaign was headed by Ali Shakouri-Rad, and he was supported by the following political parties and organizations: Scientific career. Mostafa Moin is one of the leading Iranian researchers in the field of pediatric immunology and allergy. He is currently president of a research center affiliated with the Tehran medical school.