TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (Mehr News Agency) - Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Ghalibaf has been given 8th place among the top 11 mayors by World Mayor for the 2008. Ghalibaf has picked up plaudits across the board for his modernization of the capital's infrastructure and public services.

 
file photo (May 2007)

The finalists for the 2008 World Mayor Award were chosen on the number of votes received and, more importantly, on the persuasiveness and conviction of supporting statements.

Below there are few of comments received about Ghalibaf:

Comment: Since Dr. Ghalibaf started as mayor of Tehran we can see many positive changes in the city. I have lived in Europe for some years and even can say that some of his ideas could be copied by European cities. I wish him a good luck and success.

Comment: He is a perfect mayor for Tehran and his work is improving the city.

Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town, wins the 2008 World Mayor Prize
By Tann vom Hove, Editor, WorldMayor.com

In 8th place:
Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran

Tehran's popular mayor has picked up plaudits across the board for his modernisation of the capital's infrastructure and public services, as well as angered President Ahmadinejad with his unabating rivalry. Mohammad Ghalibaf presents himself as a competent moderate, having secured election twice in 2005 and 2007, but critics at home and abroad point to his record in the area of human rights as a former police chief.

In the aftermath of the 1999 student protests in Tehran, in which several students died and hundreds more were injured at the hands of the police, Mohammad Ghalibaf, appointed chief of police by current Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Ghalibaf's stint as chief of police is remembered for his modernising zeal, with the introduction of the 110 emergency number and the overhaul of the police forces, as well as the introduction of new technology and policing methods. Ghalibaf was also praised for his handling of the subsequent 2003 student protests, which passed with no loss of life.

While beaten by Ahmadinejad in the June 2005 presidential poll, Ghalibaf was able to inherit the Tehran mayoralty from him with the Tehran City Council electing him to the post in September 2005, though on an 8-7 vote margin. The city council, elected in 2003 was dominated by Ahmadinejad's Alliance of Builders of Iran faction, but in 2007 was replaced by a body divided between reformists and conservatives allied to either Ahmadinejad or Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf was re-elected by the city council in May 2007, a predictable event given his popularity and record of delivery, though the Ahmadinejad government had lobbied aggressively for his defenestration.

Two years on from Ahmadinejad's elevation to the Iranian presidency and Ghalibaf's assumption of the mayoral post in Tehran, Ghalibaf points to his energetic record of public service reform, with the introduction of 380 neighbourhood councils in the capital and the use of more private sector involvement in new infrastructure projects. The mayor brims with pride when he speaks of how the city has introduced more transparency and accountability into the budgeting process and achieved higher tax revenues though incentives. He is also a keen student of other metro areas around the world, actively investing in monitoring innovation in traffic management and public transport. | Comments | Profile

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... Payvand News - 10/14/08 ...

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