Mohammad Reza Bahonar
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Mohammad Reza Bahonar (محمدرضا باهنر in Persian) is the conservative First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Iran. He is a representative from Kerman.
In previous parliaments, he has been elected as a representative from Kerman and Tehran. He is considered a key member of the conservatice alliance, and was considered a possible candidate for the post of the speaker or the leader of the conservative faction in the parliament. He later refused to run for the post of speaker possibly because of a deal made inside the conservative alliance, so he decided to run for the post of vice speaker. He became the First Vice Speaker for one year on June 6, 2004 with 188 votes out of 259. The other running candidate for the post of vice speaker was Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard, a representative from Qazvin who became the second vice speaker with 173 votes.
Bahonar, also the secretary-general of the Islamic Society of Engineers, backs commercial capitalism, and represents the technocrats of the conservative alliance. He believes in a free economy, but controlled cultural and political activities. He has mentioned that he prefers Iran to get involved in commerce, but not industry.
Mohammad Reza Bahonar is the brother of Mohammad Javad Bahonar, the second prime minister of Iran (which was assassinated).