Hossein Marashi

Hossein Marashi (Persian: حسین مرعشی; born 17 November 1958 in Rafsanjan) is an Iranian politician. He served as the Iranian Vice President for Cultural Heritage and Tourism from 2003 to 2005. Prior to that, Marashi represented Kerman in the Iranian parliament. He strongly backed opposition candidate Mousavi in the 2009 Iranian election.[4] Marashi is also reportedly a close ally of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, another former president.[5] He has been secretary general of the Executives of Construction Party. He has been named the head of vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri's campaign.

Hossein Marashi
Marashi in August 2017
Vice President of Iran Head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization
In office 4 May 2004 – 18 August 2005
President	Mohammad Khatami
Preceded by	Mohammad Beheshti
Succeeded by	Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Member of Parliament
In office 28 May 1996 – 4 May 2004[1]
Constituency	Kerman
Majority	141,781 (68.9%; 5th term)[2]
Head of President's Office
In office 16 February 1994 – 28 May 1996
President	Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Preceded by	Mohammad Mirmohammadi
Succeeded by	Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani
Governor of Kerman Province
In office 3 November 1985[3] – July 1994
President	Ali Khamenei Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Prime Minister	Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Preceded by	Hamid Mirzadeh
Succeeded by	Morteza Bank
Personal details
Born	(1958-11-17) 17 November 1958 Rafsanjan, Iran
Political party	Executives of Construction
Relatives	Effat Marashi (cousin)

He was the head of the province of Kerman for nearly nine years. He founded a Kerman-based charity by the name of Mol-Al-Movahedin Charity (or Non-Profit) Institute, which owns Mahan Air, an Iranian private airline. In 2011, the charity was involved in a scandal when it was accused of buying airplanes on behalf of Mahan Air. The airline had been facing sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury for allegedly transporting weapons and advisors to troubled areas such as Syria and Yemen. The claim that firm had any connection with these political actives was denied by members of its board, and Marashi himself.[6][7]

As the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, Marashi increased the budget of the organization. However, some of Marashi's opponents believe that he was responsible for the disappearance of invaluable historical pieces, and the destruction of historical buildings. These opponents claim that despite public pressure, he never took any action to stop the destruction of historical artifacts. Marashi supported the construction of the controversial Sivand Dam in the territory of Pasargadae. The dam was constructed in proximity to the ancient city, and experts believe that if the dam burst, it could destroy several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[8]

On March 19, 2010 it was announced that Marashi had been jailed in Iran, when a court of appeals upheld his one-year prison term. He was released from prison earlier than that, on January 25, 2011.[9]

Marashi is a cousin of former president Rafsanjani's wife, Effat Marashi.