The presidency: relevance of the secondary executive

While the precise role and position of the Iranian presidency within the state system remains a contested issue, no matter how constrained or confined, the office of the president maintains relevance within Iran’s political process, both in principle and in practice. Each Iranian president has brought a signature style to the post and has left a particular stamp on the office. During the tenures of successive presidents of the Islamic Republic, each president has had a distinctive impact on domestic politics and on Iran’s outreach to the international community. What becomes clear is that even within the rigid institutional rubric of the office of the president, political behavior can vary greatly. Iranian political leaders come to office with very distinctive agendas, policy preferences, decision-making styles, political psychologies, and personality traits.