Mohammad Beheshti

Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti (Persian: محمد حسینی بهشتی; 24 October 1928 – 28 June 1981) was an Iranian jurist, poetic philosopher, cleric and politician who was known as the second person in the political hierarchy of Iran after the Revolution. Beheshti is considered to have been the primary architect of Iran's post-revolution constitution, as well as the administrative structure of the Islamic republic. Beheshti is also known to have selected and trained several prominent politicians in the Islamic Republic, such as former presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Ali Fallahian, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi. Beheshti also served as the Secretary General of the Islamic Republic Party, and was the head of the Iranian judicial system. He further served as Chairman of the Council of Islamic Revolution, and the Assembly of Experts. Beheshti earned a PhD in philosophy, and was fluent in English, German and Arabic.

On 28 June 1981, Beheshti was assassinated in the Hafte tir bombing by the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), along with more than 70 members of the Islamic Republic Party, including four cabinet ministers and 23 members of parliament. The Iranian government implicated Mohammad Reza Kolahi as the MEK operative involved in the incident. Following his death, Ayatollah Khomeini referred to Beheshti as a person who was "as a nation for us."