Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi (1985–89) Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi (1985–89) In August 1981, President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar were assassinated in an explosion. Ali Khamenei was then elected as the third president of Iran in the Iranian presidential election, October 1981. He put forward Ali Akbar Velayati as his prime minister, but the Iranian parliament did not give him the vote of confidence, and he was defeated with a vote of 80 to 74. Subsequently, Ali Khamenei, though he had strong disagreements with Mousavi, as a compromise with the left-leaning parliament, agreed to offer him, Mousavi, for the post of premier. On
Mir-Hossein Mousavi in Shiraz, "Haft-e-tir Martyr's tomb" in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra, and "Salman mosque" in the presidential residence are examples of his work. In recent years, he has been more active in painting and has participated in many exhibitions. Mousavi refused to run for the presidency in the 1997 elections, which caused the reformists to turn to his former Cabinet Minister, then a little-known cleric, Mohammad Khatami, who was elected by a landslide. During Khatami's administration, Mousavi served as the Senior Adviser to the President. Mousavi was considered the leading candidate from the reformist alliance to run in the Iranian presidential election,