Mehdi Sanaei

Mehdi Sanaei (born March 25, 1968)[1] is an Iranian academic, politician, and diplomat serving since 2013 as the incumbent Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation. As a senior international relations scholar and well-known political author, he is the founder of Russian Studies Department in the Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, and has taught various courses on Eurasian affairs since 2005. Previously he was a visiting lecturer in political science at Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) (1999 – 2003). He has been a member of Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) since May 2014 and member of Kazakhstan Academy of Social Sciences since 1997.[2]

Mehdi Sanaei
Sanai presenting his lettre de créance to Vladimir Putin, 16 January 2014
Ambassador of Iran to Russia
In office
16 January 2014 – 10 November 2019
PresidentHassan Rouhani
Preceded bySeyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi
Succeeded byKazem Jalali
Personal details
BornMarch 25, 1968
Nahavand, Iran
RelativesAli Younesi (father-in-law)

Ambassador Sanaei was lawmaker at Iran’s Islamic Parliament (Majlis) from 2008 to 2013. During his tenure in the Parliament, he was deputy to Foreign Policy Committee in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission (NSFPC), the Parliament representative in Caspian Sea Affairs and chair of Iran’s Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG) with Ukraine and Russia.[3]

He is also the founder and CEO of the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (a.k.a. IRAS) since 2004. IRAS is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental think tank and publisher based in Tehran whose mission is to analyze and promote the understanding of major issues and current affairs of Eurasia and South Caucasus.[4]

Life and career

Education

Sanaei attended University of Tehran in Iran and graduated in political science in 1992. He then continued his higher education got his M.A. in international relations from University of Tehran in 1995. He finally obtained his Ph.D. in political science from Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in 2001. His Ph.D. thesis entitled “Iran-Central Asia Political and Social Relations” was prized in the Iran's Book of the Year Awards.

Career

Sanaei joined the University of Tehran in 2003 and served as the assistant professor in international relations at the Faculty of Law and political Science. One year later, he established the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (IRAS) as the first independent think tank on Eurasian affairs and surrounding regions. Ambassador Sanaei then founded the Russian Studies Department in the Faculty of World Studies (FWS), University of Tehran in 2005. As the head of the Department and associate professor in international relations, he has started to teach courses on Eurasian politics, cultures, economies and foreign policies.[5]

He has been the member of the RAS since 2014 and earlier, he became the member of Kazakhstan Academy of Social Sciences in 1997. He is also the honorary member of Russian Writer’s Union. He was cultural attaché in Iran’s embassy to Khuzestan (1995-1998) and Iran’s embassy to Russia (1999-2003). He served as Research & Education deputy to Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (2003-2005) and head of Cultural Institute of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) (2005-2006).[6]

Sanaei ran for Parliament’s seat in 2007 and he entered Iran’s Islamic Parliament (Majlis) as MP from Nahavand constituency (southwest of Hamadan Province) in 2008. Before leaving the parliamentary seat for new mission as Iran’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Russia in 2003, he was deputy Foreign Policy Committee in NSFPC, representative of the Majlis in Caspian Sea Affairs and chair of Iran-Ukraine and Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Groups (PFGs).[7]

Bibliography
  • Iran’s Position in Central Asia (Tehran, 1997) (in Persian)
  • Souvenir of Transoxiana (Tehran, 1999) (in Persian)
  • Iran-Central Asia Political and Social Relations (Moravi Press, 2002) (in Russian)
  • In the Greater Silk Road (Russian Academy of Sciences Press, 2004) (in Russian)
  • Law and Politics in Islam: A Textbook (Russian Academy of Sciences Press, 2004) (in Russian)
  • Iran-Russia Relationships (IRAS, 2009) (in Persian)
  • With Nahavand: memories of Election 2007 [1386] (IRAS, 2010) (in Persian)
  • Iran-Central Asia Relationships (IPIS, 2011) (in Persian)
  • Russia: Society, Politics and Government (SAMT, 2016) (in Persian)

References
  1. "مهدی سنائی - دانشکده مطالعات جهان". دانشکده مطالعات جهان (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  2. "Mehdi Sanaei". Valdai Club (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  3. "زندگینامه: مهدی سنایی (۱۳۴۷-)". hamshahrionline.ir. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  4. Behnegarsoft.com (2016-07-30). "IRAS - About IRAS". The Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  5. "مهدی سنائی - دانشکده مطالعات جهان". دانشکده مطالعات جهان (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  6. "PIR Center". pircenter.org. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  7. "زندگینامه: مهدی سنایی (۱۳۴۷-)". hamshahrionline.ir. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
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