Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad served as mayor of Tehran from 2003 before his presidential election victory in 2005. His two-term presidency was defined by confrontational nuclear rhetoric, Holocaust denial, economic mismanagement, and the disputed 2009 election that triggered the Green Movement. He significantly expanded the IRGC's economic and political power. After leaving office he fell out with Khamenei and was disqualified from subsequent presidential races.