FORA.tv Speaker - Mohammad Khatami

Seyyed Mohammad Khatami (Persian : سید محمد خاتمی), born September 29, 1943 in Ardakan city of Yazd province, is an Iranian intellectual, philosopher and political figure. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 2, 2005 and was succeeded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is also officially titled حجت الاسلام والمسلمین, Hojjat-ol-Eslām wa-l-Moslemīn, an honorific title given to middle-ranking mujtahid Shia clerics. Khatami was elected president on May 23, 1997 and was re-elected on June 8, 2001 for a second term. Khatami won largely due to the female and youth vote, who voted for him because he promised to improve the status of women and respond to the demands of the young generation in Iran. The day of his election, the 2nd of Khordad, 1376 in the Iranian calendar, is regarded as the starting date of "reforms" in Iran. His followers or anybody who was following that current are therefore usually known as the "2nd of Khordad Movement".