Hossein Razavi

Hossein Morteza Razavi (: حسین مرتضی رضوی; born May 4, 1957) is an Arshavati lawyer and politician who serves as the twelfth and current President of Arshavat.

Born in Karahisar to a prominent family, Razavi received his LL.B. from the University of Karahisar in 1979 and his LL.M. from the University of Markent in 1981 before reporting for compulsory military duty. He spent his first few years as a military prosecutor in post-Intifada Merzan specializing in counterterrorism prosecutions. In 1984, he moved to Markent and became an assistant district prosecutor, where he quickly rose through the ranks and gained national recognition for his handling of the investigation and trial of Zurab Jughashvili, a Merzani terrorist who unsuccessfully attempted to bomb the Markent Stock Exchange. Capitalizing on his reputation and with the endorsement of key party officials, Razavi was elected as the district prosecutor of Markent. He was subsequently elected Prosecutor General of Yedişehir. During his tenure, he initiated and oversaw the investigation of Erdal Erdemir, the head of Khodrow Erdemir and a distant if controversial ally of President Abbas Pervez, for fraud and bribery. When the case was subordinated by the Ministry of Justice, which declined to indict Erdemir despite strong evidence against him, Razavi resigned from office and began seeking support for his election to the Assembly.

Backed by the Federalist opposition in the Totalist Party, Razavi was elected to the Chamber of Delegates in 2002, where he became a close ally of Beyazid Kurt. His family contributed greatly to Kurt's rise to power in the Absolutist Party, especially through their corporate connections in Patharkhand; he personally convinced a number of key party officials in the south to switch their allegiance to the Federalist faction prior to the 2004 Supreme Congress of the Absolutist Party of Arshavat. Following Kurt's ascension to the presidency in 2007, Razavi became the unofficial right-hand man of Abbas Alizadeh, the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates. Political commenters and party insiders considered him a moderately conservative pragmatist who was able to broker compromises between the center and right-wing members of Kurt's alliance. When Alizadeh fell from power following the Fatah Affair in 2011, Razavi was appointed as his successor. As Speaker, Razavi led the passage of a series of anti-corruption laws, notably the Corrupt Practices Act of 2011. In 2012, he was appointed Minister of Justice. During his tenure, he oversaw the zealous prosecution of many close allies of former president Abbas Pervez for bribery and corruption.

In 2016, Kurt announced that he would not be seeking another term as president and would instead focus on his position as party chairman. This came following Kurt's falling approval ratings following his handling of the civil war in Jyugoku and the ensuing immigration crisis. Razavi remained popular with the public and was widely considered a top contender for the position of Kurt's successor, along with Interior Minister Junayd Ansari. A close ally of Razavi, Party Disciplinary Chair Harish Khan, discredited Ansari in the Crown Hotel Affair and Razavi was chosen as Kurt's successor; he was elected President of Arshavat with 78% of the vote. During his presidency, Razavi has shifted Arshavati foreign policy away from his predecessor's isolationist views to a more interventionist stance, especially regarding growing tensions in Jyugoku and Kyrossia. Though an advocate of economic deregulation, new corporate income taxes and slashed subsidies have funded his increased military spending and planned increases to universal healthcare. He has faced backlash for removing presidential term limits, prosecuting political opponents for minor crimes, passing, and expanding state surveillance and Internet censorship.

Early life and family
Hossein Morteza Razavi was born on May 4, 1957, in a suburb of Karahisar. He is the fourth child and third son of a prominent local family. His father, Morteza Razavi, is a Hanafic scholar and. His mother, Fatemeh Ahrar, is a member of the industrialist Khwaja family of Markent. His parents were influential in local politics and were considered leaders of the Dihgan community of Karahisar. Razavi and his siblings were educated at a and had a deeply religious upbringing; Razavi himself attributes his attitude towards religion to his father's influence.

Razavi's maternal relatives, the Khwaja family, are one of the leading industrialist dynasties of Yedişehir. His maternal grandfather, Mohammad Ahrar, is the managing partner of the Ahrar Group, which is the third largest supplier of professional services in northern and eastern Arshavat. An estimated 9% of Arshavati companies draw their executive management from the Ahrar Group. As a teenager, Razavi often spent his school breaks working as a secretary for his maternal grandfather, gaining an early understanding of business management and taking a particular liking to legal work.