Masoumeh Ebtekar

Masoumeh Ebtekar
معصومه ابتکار
Ebtekar in 2015
Vice President for Women and Family Affairs
In office
9 August 2017 – 1 September 2021
PresidentHassan Rouhani
Preceded byShahindokht Molaverdi
Succeeded byEnsieh Khazali
Head of the Department of Environment
In office
10 September 2013 – 13 August 2017
PresidentHassan Rouhani
Preceded byJavad Mohammadizadeh
Succeeded byIsa Kalantari
In office
23 August 1997 – 7 September 2005
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Preceded byHadi Manafi
Succeeded byFatemeh Javadi
Member of the Islamic City Council of Tehran
In office
29 April 2007 – 3 September 2013
Majority232,959 (14.06%)
Personal details
Born (1960-09-21) 21 September 1960 (age 64)
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Political partyIslamic Iran Participation Front (1998–2010)
Union of Islamic Iran People Party (2010–present)
Spouse
(m. 1981)
Children2
Parent(s)Taghi Ebtekar (father)[1]
Fatemeh Barzegar (mother)[2]
Alma materShahid Beheshti University (BSc)
Tarbiat Modares University (MSc, PhD)
Signature

Masoumeh Ebtekar (Persian: معصومه ابتکار; born 21 September 1960) is an Iranian politician. A Reformist, she headed the country's Department of Environment from 1997 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2017, after which she served as the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs from 2017 to 2021. Her appointment to the Cabinet of Iran in 1997 marked her as the institution's third female member overall and the first female member since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. She is currently a full-time professor in the Immunology Department of the School of Medical Sciences at Tarbiat Modares University in the city of Tehran.

During the Iran hostage crisis, which began in November 1979 and ended in January 1981, Ebtekar was the spokesperson for the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line. Variously nicknamed "Mary" and "Sister Mary" by the American media, which also took note of her broadcasts in American English, she and her colleagues occupied the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, where they held American citizens in captivity for 444 days with the approval of Ruhollah Khomeini, who had recently seized power as the Supreme Leader of Iran.[3] The hostage crisis triggered ongoing hostilities between Iran and the United States. However, despite her views, Ebtekar's oldest son Eissa Hashemi has been residing in the United States since the early 2010s, prompting criticism from opponents of the Islamic Republic government.[4][5][6]

Between 2007 and 2013, Ebtekar was part of the Islamic City Council of Tehran.[7] In 1998, she joined the Islamic Iran Participation Front, which was banned in 2010, and has since been affiliated with the Union of Islamic Iran People Party.

  1. ^ "معصومه ابتکار؛ از تسخیر لانه جاسوسی تا ریاست دوباره سازمان محیط زیست". Mehrnews.com. 10 September 2013.
  2. ^ "پاسخ مادر معصومه ابتکار به اتهامات یک خبرگزاری خاص". Bornanews.ir. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  3. ^ Azizi, Arash (4 February 2019). "Sister Mary and her Hostage, 38 Years Later". IranWire. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ^ Hajizade, Ali (12 January 2019). "While the Iranian regime's elite bash US, their children reap its benefits". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  5. ^ Rosen, Barry (7 November 2022). "Blood money: Western countries should expel the kids of Iran's elites". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  6. ^ Esfandiari, Golnaz (11 October 2015). "Son Of Iranian Hostage-Takers Is Schooled By 'Great Satan'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 26 September 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Local vote embarrassing Iran president - Yahoo! News". 27 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 December 2006.