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Iran
The Rise and Fall of Bani Sadr
Bani Sadr was the first popularly elected president of the Islamic
Republic. He assumed office with a decisive electoral vote--75
percent-- and with the blessing of Khomeini. Within seventeen
months, however, he had been impeached by the Majlis, and dismissed
from office. Bani Sadr was destroyed, at least in part, by the
same issue that had brought down Bazargan, that is, the efforts
of the government to reestablish its political authority. Ironically,
prior to his election as president, Bani Sadr had advocated decentralization
of political power and had even helped to undermine the Bazargan
government. As president, Bani Sadr became a convert to the principle
that centralization of power was necessary; soon, he was embroiled
in a bitter political dispute with his former allies. The downfall
of Bani Sadr, however, also involved a more fundamental issue,
namely, the distribution of power among the new political institutions
of the Republic. The fate of Bani Sadr demonstrated that the legislature
was independent from and at least equal to the executive, the
reverse situation of the Majlis under the Pahlavi shahs.
The conflict between Bani Sadr and the Majlis, which was dominated
by the IRP, began when the assembly convened in June 1980. The
first issue of controversy concerned the designation of a prime
minister. Although the Constitution provides for the president
to select the prime minister, it also stipulates that the prime
minister must have the approval of the Majlis. After a protracted
political struggle, the Majlis forced Bani Sadr to accept its
own nominee, Rajai, as prime minister. The president, who had
aspired to serve as a strong figure similar to de Gaulle when
he was president of France, was unable to reconcile his differences
with the prime minister, who preferred to formulate government
policies in consultation with the Majlis. As Bani Sadr continued
to lose influence over political developments to the Majlis, his
own credibility as an effective leader was undermined. The Majlis
also frustrated Bani Sadr's attempts to establish the authority
of the presidency in both domestic and foreign affairs. For example,
the leaders of the IRP in the Majlis manipulated Bani Sadr's efforts
to deal with Iran's international crises, the dispute with the
United States over the hostages, and the war with Iraq that began
in September 1980 in order to discredit him. When Bani Sadr tried
to ally himself with the interests of the disaffected, secularized
middle class, the IRP mobilized thousands of supporters, who were
incited to assault persons and property derisively identified
as "liberal," the euphemism used for any Iranian whose values
were perceived to be Western. Bani Sadr attempted to defend his
actions by writing editorials in his newspaper, Enqelab-e
Islami, that criticized IRP policies and denounced the Majlis
and other IRP-dominated institutions as being unconstitutional.
Eventually, the leaders of the IRP convinced Khomeini that Bani
Sadr was a danger to the Revolution. Accordingly, in June 1981
the Majlis initiated impeachment proceedings against the president
and found him guilty of incompetence. Bani Sadr went into hiding
even before Khomeini issued the decree dismissing him from office.
At the end of July, he managed to flee the country in an airplane
piloted by sympathetic air force personnel.
Data as of December 1987
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