Abolhassan Banisadr, born in 1933, was Iran's first president following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. An economist educated in France, he initially supported the revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini, believing in the possibility of merging Islamic principles with democratic governance. Elected in 1980 by a large popular vote, Banisadr faced immediate challenges, including the Iran-Iraq War and internal political divisions. His efforts to limit clerical power and assert civilian leadership put him at odds with the growing influence of hardline religious factions. In 1981, after a power struggle with the clerics and the Revolutionary Guards, he was impeached by parliament and fled the country, spending the rest of his life in exile in France. He continued to criticize the Iranian regime until his death in 2021
