Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (Persian: میرحسین موسوی خامنه, romanized: Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, pronounced [miːɾhoˈsejne muːsæˈviːje xɑːmeˈne]; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian socialist[4] politician, artist, architect and opposition figure[5][6] who served as the 45th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989.

According to official results, he did not win the election, and following alleged vote-rigging and manipulation, his campaign sparked a long protest that eventually turned into a national and international movement against the government and Supreme Leader.

[13][17] As the Iranian Revolution neared, Mousavi, whose earliest political hero was Che Guevara,[21] became more actively involved in the struggle.

He initially participated in the establishment of the Jonbesh-e Mosalmanan-e Mobarez (Movement of Militant Muslims) alongside Habibollah Peyman which eventually led him to join ranks with Mohammad Beheshti, who was a close associate of the revolution leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, and abandoned his previous connections with Ali Shariati.

[22] As the chief editor of Jomhouri-e Eslami, he was a loud critic and opponent of Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president of the Islamic Republic, until the latter's 1981 flight to France, following a successful impeachment by parliament.

[17] As the prime minister, Mousavi had the full backing of Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader, and he refused to accept his resignation.

While his government was viewed as somewhat liberal, he was still under the pressure of hardliners, though Khomeini generally protected Mousavi from the conservatives and gave him a free rein in deciding actions for the economy.

[13] A year after the end of the Iran–Iraq War on 20 August 1988, Ruhollah Khomeini died (June 3, 1989), and Ali Khamenei was elected as the new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts.

[17] During the parliament hearing on post-war reconstruction plans, Mousavi had heated arguments with Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the speaker of Iran's parliament at the time, over Rafsanjani's suggestion that Iran accept the offer of western countries to help with post-war reconstruction.

[citation needed] Mousavi was not invited to be a participant in the new government headed by Rafsanjani, and disappeared from the public sphere.

[30] About how the film's success was turned into disaster, Motalebi says: One Friday Mr. Mohsen Makhmalbaf gathered a couple of people and they started collecting signatures for a petition which was written on a scroll, stating that "We have made a revolution while these actors are transgressors."

Fardin opened a pastry shop too and when I went to visit him, I used to wait outside as long as there were no customers so that he wouldn't feel ashamed when he saw me.

Amnesty's report criticizes Mousavi's response asserting that “without explaining what he is acknowledging ... he focuses on criticizing the July 1988 armed incursion by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).” The report goes on to say:[33] Since 2009, when he re-entered politics as a Reformist opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi’s response when asked about the 1988 prison massacres has often been to avoid commenting or to claim that they took place without the knowledge of his government.

After 20 years of political silence, on 9 March 2009, Mousavi announced his intention to run in the 2009 Iranian presidential election.

[39] He started his campaign from the center of Iranian politics; over time, he shifted more towards the left by declaring his support for reforms.

[40] Mousavi had on numerous occasions indicated his wish to change the constitution in order to remove the existing ban on the private ownership of television stations (currently all Iranian television stations are state-owned), as well as transfer the control of the law-enforcement forces to the President (so that they represent the people, since the people directly elect the President through popular vote) from the Supreme Leader.

[citation needed] He said that "the issue of non-compliance with the Iranian rules and regulations is the biggest problem that the country is currently faced with" and that he wished to put in place ways to enforce the laws further,[citation needed] and that it was also important to bring an end to keeping the populace uninformed about government matters.

The BBC reported that Mousavi "called for greater personal freedoms in Iran and criticized the ban on private television channels", but "refused to back down from the country's disputed nuclear programme, saying it was "for peaceful purposes".

[43] "No one in Iran will accept suspension," Mousavi has said, adding that if elected, his policy would be to work to provide "guarantees" that Tehran's nuclear activities would never divert to non-peaceful aims.

[44] He said that he would seek to disband the so-called morality police force, and ensure that Iranian women are treated equally, with the ability to attain financial empowerment and to serve at the highest levels of decision making bodies.

Anti-Ahmadinejad protesters chanted the English-language phrase in numbers not seen since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, in an attempt to receive international attention.

Neda Agha-soltan and Sohrab Aarabi were among the victims, and alleged cases of rape in prison (Taraneh Mousavi) were also uncovered.

Since the election, the government has severely restricted the access of foreign and Iranian media to footage and information relating to opposition activities.

Mousavi neither recognizes the current government as legitimate, nor is likely to receive permission; the movement was named a "path" in order bypass this law.

[57] The Green Path of Hope seeks to continue protests against Ahmadinejad's presidency following lawful and peaceful methods, and the full execution of the constitution, as Mousavi says:[58] You can't follow some parts of the constitution and throw the rest into a bin.Mousavi is quoted in describing the movement:[59] The Green Path of Hope is formed for the sake of people’s rightful demands and for claiming their rights... the color green is the symbol of this movement; its slogan is demanding the impeccable implementation of the constitution, and innumerable self-motivated independent societies form the body of this movement.According to organization officials, the movement encompasses numerous political parties, NGOs and social networks.

Mousavi emphasized that existent, autonomous social networks in the community are part of this movement:[60] During the election, our mottos supported and remained in the framework of the constitution; today we are devoted to those slogans.

[60]The "Green Path" has six main members on its central council, who are connected to reformist parties, NGOs, and social networks.

The strategy is to connect existent pressures and issues in society in a social network, and to therefore lead protests in a lawful manner.

[57] In the wake of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, Green movement leaders in Iran called for demonstrations on 14 February 2011.

[citation needed] After the election of Hassan Rouhani as President in 2013, it was announced that Mousavi and Rahnavard would soon be freed from house arrest.