Hatta, Mohammad, 1902-80, Indonesian political leader. He was born on Sumatra into an aristocratic family. Interested in economics, he went to the Netherlands to study. There he joined the Indonesian independence movement and edited the journal Indonesia Merdeka. He was arrested in 1927 by the Dutch, tried, but released. Hatta returned to Sumatra in 1932. He became chairman of the Pendikan Nasional Indonesia, a nationalist organization. For his activities, Hatta was again arrested by the Dutch and exiled in 1935. He was freed by the Japanese early in 1942 when they occupied Indonesia. Hatta and Sukarno, another nationalist leader, decided to cooperate with the Japanese to further the purpose of Indonesian independence. In Aug., 1945, Hatta and Sukarno joined in proclaiming the birth of the independent Republic of Indonesia. Sukarno became president and Hatta was vice president. The Dutch resisted the nationalists, and Hatta became premier and defense minister in 1948 to direct the fight against the Dutch troops. Again imprisoned by the Dutch in 1949, Hatta was released to head a delegation to the Hague and there successfully negotiated a settlement. He was (1949-50) again prime minister before serving (1950-56) as vice president of the republic; he resigned 1956 after a dispute with Sukarno. Hatta withdrew from political life and devoted himself primarily to the cooperative movement in Indonesia. After Sukarno's fall from power, Hatta returned to government service as an adviser to President Suharto.

Zia ul-Haq, Mohammad, 1924-88, Pakistani military and political leader. Named general and chief of staff by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1976, he declared martial law in July, 1977, in response to agitations against election fraud. He imprisoned Bhutto, later (1979) executing him. Zia became president in 1978 declaring the "Islamization" of Pakistan. He attempted to establish a partyless politics, winning a referendum in 1984. He permitted elected legislatures by 1985, lifting martial law in 1986. However, agitations caused Zia to dissolve the government (May, 1988), calling for elections in 90 days. He died in a plane crash and was succeeded by Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

Khatami, Mohammad, 1943-, Iranian religious and political leader. From a prominent clerical family, Khatami opposed the regime of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi in the 1960s and 70s, and in 1978 he headed the Islamic Center in Hamburg, Germany. After the shah's fall (1979), he returned to Iran and was elected to the national assembly, becoming minister of culture and Islamic guidance (1982-92). Considered a moderate, he eased restrictions on publications, films, art, and music and was ultimately forced to resign after being charged with permissiveness. Khatami subsequently served as director of the National Library and a presidential adviser.

Pledging to deal with runaway inflation and high unemployment, he was overwhelmingly elected Iran's president in 1997 with strong support from political moderates, intellectuals, students, and women. As president, he appointed a relatively liberal cabinet and called for political democratization and the advancement of women. He also advocated rapprochement between Iran and Arab states as well as improved relations with the West, including the United States. Many of his reform efforts were opposed by hard-line conservatives in the clergy, judiciary, and military, and his first administration was unable to produce significant economic improvement. Nonetheless, he reluctantly ran and was reelected with more than three fourths of the vote in 2001, as Iranians continued to support greater democracy and social freedom. His second term was little different from the first, as he generally avoided confrontation with the hard-liners and the unelected Guardian Council, even when the latter disqualified many legitimate reformist candidates for the 2004 parliamentary elections.

In 2009 Khatami briefly was a presidential candidate again but withdrew in favor of Mir Hossein Mousavi, and after the election supported Mousavi's charges of fraud and himself accused the government of a coup against the people. He is the author of Fear of the Wave (1993), an essay collection, and From the World of the City to the City of the World (1994), a study of Western philosophical and political thought.

or Muhsubdotammad Khātamī

(born Sept. 29, 1943, Ardakān, Iran) President of Iran (1997–2005). After studying at a traditional madrasah in the holy city of Qom, he began political activities while studying philosophy at Essubdotfahān University. He headed the Islamic Centre Hamburg in Germany during the Iranian Revolution (1979) and returned home to seek election to the Majles (parliament) in 1980. He served in government posts during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–90), as cultural adviser to Pres. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and as head of the National Library (1992–97) before winning the presidency on a platform of social and economic reform. He was reelected by an overwhelming margin in 2001.

Learn more about Khatami, Mohammad with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Aug. 12, 1902, Bukittinggi, Dutch East Indies—died March 14, 1980, Jakarta, Indon.) Indonesian independence leader and prime minister (1948–50). While at school in The Netherlands (1922–32), he became president of a group of Indonesian nationalist students studying overseas. He was imprisoned in a concentration camp in West New Guinea for his activities and then exiled to the island of Bandanaira. He collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. He became prime minister in 1948 and gained support from Western countries that year by suppressing a communist revolt. Hatta helped guide Indonesia to complete independence in 1949. He became vice president under Sukarno in 1950, but resigned in 1956. After Sukarno's downfall, he served as an adviser to Suharto.

Learn more about Hatta, Mohammad with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or Muhsubdotammad Khātamī

(born Sept. 29, 1943, Ardakān, Iran) President of Iran (1997–2005). After studying at a traditional madrasah in the holy city of Qom, he began political activities while studying philosophy at Essubdotfahān University. He headed the Islamic Centre Hamburg in Germany during the Iranian Revolution (1979) and returned home to seek election to the Majles (parliament) in 1980. He served in government posts during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–90), as cultural adviser to Pres. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and as head of the National Library (1992–97) before winning the presidency on a platform of social and economic reform. He was reelected by an overwhelming margin in 2001.

Learn more about Khatami, Mohammad with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Aug. 12, 1902, Bukittinggi, Dutch East Indies—died March 14, 1980, Jakarta, Indon.) Indonesian independence leader and prime minister (1948–50). While at school in The Netherlands (1922–32), he became president of a group of Indonesian nationalist students studying overseas. He was imprisoned in a concentration camp in West New Guinea for his activities and then exiled to the island of Bandanaira. He collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. He became prime minister in 1948 and gained support from Western countries that year by suppressing a communist revolt. Hatta helped guide Indonesia to complete independence in 1949. He became vice president under Sukarno in 1950, but resigned in 1956. After Sukarno's downfall, he served as an adviser to Suharto.

Learn more about Hatta, Mohammad with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Mohammad Ali Rajai (محمد علی رجائی in Persian) (15 June 1933 – August 30, 1981) was the second elected President of Iran, after serving as Prime Minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also Minister of Foreign Affairs for five months 11 March 1981 – 15 August 1981, while he was Prime Minister.

He graduated with a degree in Education from Tarbiat Moallem University in 1959.

He was a strong supporter of Iranian revolution and was a leader in the movement to purge Iranian universities of American and European influences, which was later called the Islamic Cultural Revolution. Furthermore, he started the Iranian retirement program for individuals over the age 70.

Assassination

On August 30, 1981, President Rajai held a meeting of Iran's Supreme Defence Council, along with Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar. Witnesses later stated that a trusted aide brought a briefcase into the conference room, setting it between the two leaders, then left. Another person opened the case, triggering a bomb that set the room ablaze and killed Rajai, Bahonar, and three others.

He was the President of Iran for 14 days. Rajai was born in Qazvin.

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