Kamal Kharrazi (born 1 December 1944 in Tehran), is trained as an educator, and experienced in the news media. He has been Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 20 August 1997. Previously he represented Iran at the United Nations, 1989-1997.
For several years Kharrazi has presented the official Iranian position on TV and at university campuses in the United States and Europe, and has written extensively on foreign policy issues. He is well informed, as he had extensive experience in guiding the media during the early days of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
After receiving his master's degree in education at the University of Tehran, e spent a year (1975-1976) as teaching fellow at the University of Houston,where he received a doctorate in education (1976) before returning to Iran. He has been a Professor of Management and Educational Psychology at Tehran University since 1983. Dr. Kharrazi was a founding member of the Islamic Research Institute in London.
During the first months after the Ayatollah Khomeini's coup (11 March 1979), Kharrazi served as the Vice President of Iranian National Television (March to August 1979) for the new Islamic state. He then served as Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs (August 1979 to March 1980) and as Managing Director of the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (August 1979 to July 1981).
From July 1980 to September 1989 he was President of the Islamic Republic News Agency. On 11 September 1980, the Iran-Iraq War broke out, and Kharrazi served as a member of the Supreme Defense Council of Iran and headed the War Information Headquarters, for most of the war (September 1980 to September 1988).
Kharrazi has held a number of governmental, diplomatic and academic posts and headed Iranian delegations at numerous international conferences, most importantly at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
He has written or translated a number of textbooks and articles on education and management.
Kharrazi is married and has two children.
