Hossein Marashi
Marashi in August 2017
Vice President of Iran
Head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization
In office
4 May 2004 – 18 August 2005
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Preceded byMohammad Beheshti
Succeeded byEsfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Member of Parliament
In office
28 May 1996 – 4 May 2004[1]
ConstituencyKerman
Majority141,781 (68.9%; 5th term)[2]
Head of President's Office
In office
16 February 1994 – 28 May 1996
PresidentAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Preceded byMohammad Mirmohammadi
Succeeded byMohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani
Governor of Kerman Province
In office
3 November 1985[3] – July 1994
PresidentAli Khamenei
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Prime MinisterMir-Hossein Mousavi
Preceded byHamid Mirzadeh
Succeeded byMorteza Bank
Personal details
Born (1958-11-17) 17 November 1958
Rafsanjan, Iran
Political partyExecutives of Construction
RelativesEffat Marashi (cousin)

Hossein Marashi (Persian: حسین مرعشی; born 17 November 1958 in Rafsanjan) is an Iranian politician. He served as the Iranian Vice President for Cultural Heritage and Tourism from 2003 to 2005. Prior to that, Marashi represented Kerman in the Iranian parliament. He strongly backed opposition candidate Mousavi in the 2009 Iranian election.[4] Marashi is also reportedly a close ally of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, another former president.[5] He has been secretary general of the Executives of Construction Party. He has been named the head of vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri's campaign.

He was the head of the province of Kerman for nearly nine years. He founded a Kerman-based charity by the name of Mol-Al-Movahedin Charity (or Non-Profit) Institute, which owns Mahan Air, an Iranian private airline. In 2011, the charity was involved in a scandal when it was accused of buying airplanes on behalf of Mahan Air. The airline had been facing sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury for allegedly transporting weapons and advisors to troubled areas such as Syria and Yemen. The claim that firm had any connection with these political actives was denied by members of its board, and Marashi himself.[6][7]

As the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, Marashi increased the budget of the organization. However, some of Marashi's opponents believe that he was responsible for the disappearance of invaluable historical pieces, and the destruction of historical buildings. These opponents claim that despite public pressure, he never took any action to stop the destruction of historical artifacts. Marashi supported the construction of the controversial Sivand Dam in the territory of Pasargadae. The dam was constructed in proximity to the ancient city, and experts believe that if the dam burst, it could destroy several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[8]

On March 19, 2010 it was announced that Marashi had been jailed in Iran, when a court of appeals upheld his one-year prison term. He was released from prison earlier than that, on January 25, 2011.[9]

Marashi is a cousin of former president Rafsanjani's wife, Effat Marashi.

References

  1. ↑ "مشروح مذاکرات > مجلس شورای اسلامی > دوره شش > جلسه چهارصد و بيست و سه", Iranian Parliament (in Persian)
  2. ↑ "Getting to Know the Representatives in the Majles" (PDF), Iranian Parliament, The Iran Social Science Data Portal, p. 563, archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-30, retrieved 2017-01-27
  3. ↑ "انتصاب برادر سید حسین مرعشی به سمت استاندار کرمان", Iranian Parliament (in Persian)
  4. ↑ BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8576834.stm
  5. ↑ BBC Mr Marashi is also reportedly a close ally of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former president.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ Solomon, Erika; Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (11 May 2015). "Iran's Mahan airline defies sanctions in shadowy aircraft deal". Financial Times.
  8. ↑ "Dam is threat to Iran's heritage". TheGuardian.com. 23 December 2004.
  9. ↑ Marashi Jailed BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8576834.stm


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