Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (علیاکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی in Persian), with the real name of Akbar Hashemi Bahramani (اکبر هاشمی بهرمانی in Persian) was President of Iran from August 17, 1989 to 1997, and the only president of Iran that has stepped down willingly: Banisadr was impeached, Rajai was assassinated, and Khamenei was promoted to Supreme Leader (Khatami is still serving).
Rafsanjani was also the first speaker for the Iranian Parliament since the beginning of the Islamic Republic until 1989. In 2000, in the first election after the expiration of his presidental term, he candidated himself for the Parliament elections again, but was not chosen among the 30 representatives of Tehran. After the Council of Guardians voided some voting boxes to get him chosen as the 30th candidate, he became a member of parliament again, but resigned before swearing as an MP, to show his dislike for both the unpublicity and the cheat.
Hashemi Rafsanjani is currently the head of the Islamic Republic's Expediency Discernment Council (مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام in Persian), that resolves legislative issues between the Parliament and the Council of Guardians and advices the supreme leader on matters of national policy. He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Experts.
