Masoumeh Ebtekar

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Masoumeh Ebtekar
معصومه ابتکار
Ebtekar in 2015
Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs
In office 9 August 2017 – 1 September 2021
President	Hassan Rouhani
Preceded by	Shahindokht Molaverdi
Succeeded by	Ensieh Khazali
Vice President of Iran Head of Department of Environment
In office 10 September 2013 – 13 August 2017
President	Hassan Rouhani
Preceded by	Javad Mohammadizadeh
Succeeded by	Isa Kalantari
In office 23 August 1997 – 7 September 2005
President	Mohammad Khatami
Preceded by	Hadi Manafi
Succeeded by	Fatemeh Javadi
Member of the City Council of Tehran
In office 29 April 2007 – 3 September 2013
Majority	232,959 (14.06%)
Personal details
Born	Masoumeh Ebtekar (1960-09-21) 21 September 1960 (age 63) Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Political party	Islamic Iran Participation Front (1998–2010) Union of Islamic Iran People Party (2010–present)
Spouse	Mohammad Hashemi (m. 1981)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Taghi Ebtekar (father)[1] Fatemeh Barzegar (mother)[2]
Alma mater	Shahid Beheshti University Tarbiat Modares University
Occupation	Politician, Scientist and Journalist
Signature
Website	[1]

Masoumeh Ebtekar (Persian: معصومه ابتکار; born 21 September 1960) is an Iranian reformist politician, who was the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, from 9 August 2017 to 1 September 2021. She previously headed Department of Environment from 1997 to 2005, making her the first female member in the cabinet of Iran since 1979 and the third in history. She held the same level of office from 2013 to 2017. She is a full professor at Tarbiat Modares University in the School of Medical Sciences, Immunology Department.

Ebtekar was nicknamed "Mary", when she was the spokeswoman of the students who climbed up the US embassy during the 1979 revolution in Iran and held US embassy staff in captivity for 444 days, an incident led to the 45 years long feud between Iran and America. Ebtekar's son, Isa Hashemi is now residing in the United States. She said in an interview "we have to respect people’s individuality, my son decided to study and work in America and there is nothing wrong with that, this doesn't mean he supports the hegemonic nature of America’s domination."^[3]

Later she became the head of the Environment Protection Organization of Iran during the administration of President Mohammad Khatami, and was a city councilwoman of Tehran from 2007 to 2013.^[4]