60 MINUTES: MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD 2 OF 3

60 MINUTES: MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD PART 2 OF 3

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born October 28, 1956) is the 6th and current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He became president on 6 August 2005 after winning the 2005 presidential election. Ahmadinejad's current term will end in August, 2009, but he will be eligible to run for one more term in office in 2009 presidential elections. Before becoming president, he was the Mayor of Tehran.

He is the highest directly elected official in the country, but, according to article 113 of Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, he has less total power than the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the commander in chief of the armed forces of Iran and has the final word in all aspects of foreign and domestic policies.

Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and supports strengthened relations between Iran and Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and Persian Gulf states. He has supported Iran's nuclear program declaring it is for peaceful purposes in spite of contrary demands by the UN Security Council to end it. He made a remark which was condemned internationally for calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and described the Holocaust as a "myth," leading to accusations of antisemitism. In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad said “No, I am not anti-Jew, I respect them very much.”

During his presidency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a Gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption, dissolved the Management and Planning Organisation of Iran and cut the interest rate for private and public banking facilities.