Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Before the presidency, he was Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005) — the period when Jim Fredericks met him. Internationally known for his denial of the Holocaust and inflammatory rhetoric toward Israel, as well as for his role in the nuclear standoff with the West. Jim reports that Ahmadinejad has been killed recently by a guided missile.

Connection

Jim Fredericks was hosted by Ahmadinejad for dinner in Tehran during Ahmadinejad's time as mayor of the city.

Why Herbert Would Be Delighted

The connection is genuinely startling — that Herbert's friend Jim has sat at dinner with the Mayor of Tehran is a remarkable fact about the reach of serious interreligious dialogue.

Cross-Connections

• Ali Larijani – fellow Iranian political figure of the same era; both connected through Jim Fredericks