1947 -
Leader of the Iranian Mojahedin-e Khalq since 1979.
Masud Rajavi was born in Tabas, in central Khorasan. He completed secondary school in Mashhad and studied political science at Tehran University. Because of his activities with the Mojahedin-e Khalq, he was arrested in 1971 and condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He remained in jail until the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Following the revolution, Rajavi rebuilt the Mojahedin, attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters. Since a 1981 government crack-down, Rajavi has led the Mojahedin from exile. In 1985 he married Maryam Azodanlou, who took on Rajavi's family name. Maryam Rajavi was declared not only the co-leader of the Mojahedin but also the future president of Iran.
Bibliography
Abrahamian, Ervand. The Iranian Mojahedin. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989.
— ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN
