From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Abolhassan Banisadr (ابوالحسن بنیصدر in Persian) was the first elected President of Iran after the Islamic revolution. He was elected on January 25, 1980.
Banisadr was not an Islamic cleric, because Ayatollah Khomeini had insisted that clerics should not run for positions in the government (he changed his mind later). Banisadr was the last president of Iran to hold the title of acting commander in chief of the military.
Banisadr was impeached on June 22 of 1981 by the Iranian parliament because of his moves against the clerics in power, most specifically Mohammad Beheshti, head of judical system at the time. Ayatollah Khomeini appears to have instigated the impeachment.
Banisadr later fled to France, and still (as of 2004) lives there.
