Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (lang-fa????? ????? ????, Mahm?d Ahmadinezh?d Audio-IPAlang=PersianMahmoud Ahmadinejad Clean.oggm�hmu?de �hm�di?ne???d;fixtext=missing stress born 28 October 1956) is the sixth and current President (President of Iran) of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity after the Islamic Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching. Tehrans council appointed him mayor in 2003. He took a religious hard-line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors. His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, and garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, becoming President on 3 August 2005.

Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally. He has been criticized domestically for his economic lapses and disregard for human rights. He launched a gas rationing plan (2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran) in 2007 to reduce the countrys fuel consumption, and cut the interest rates private and public banking facilities could charge. He supports Irans nuclear energy program (Iran nuclear program). His election to a second term in 2009 (Iran presidential election, 2009) was widely disputed and caused widespread protests domestically and drew significant international criticism. Major opposition parties, traditional clerical circles and influential Iranian politicians questioned the legitimacy of his presidency. Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, and United Kingdom.President Ahmadinejad, Part 2 CBS via YouTube He abides by Irans long-standing policy of refusing to recognize Israel as a legitimate nation or as representative of the regions population. He advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes Palestinians (Palestinian people) need a stronger voice in the regions future. He has been characterized in much of the West by a particular comment he made in 2005 which was initially translated as calling for the "occupying regime" (taken to mean Israel) to be "wiped off the map (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel#2005 "World Without Zionism" speech)." However, other sources have suggested that a more accurate translation would be "this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish (or be eliminated ) from the page of time". He has also been accused of describing the Holocaust as a myth (Mythology) and of making statements influenced by classic anti-Semitic ideas, which has led to accusations of anti-Semitism, though he has rejected accusations of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust, consistently refocusing the debate onto the plight of the Palestinians which Ahmadinejad insists is the immediate global issue.cite web url = title = Ahmadinejads speech @ Columbia university – a transcript accessdate = 2009-02-02 date = 25 September 2007

cite news url = title = Iranian leader not anti-Semite accessdate = 2007-04-08 date = 21 September 2006 publisher = BBC quote = Some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem. No, I am not anti-Jew, he said. I respect them very much.