His Eminence Sayyed Mohammad Ali Abtahi was born in 1958 in Mashhad, Iran. He received his religious education at the seminaries under the guidance of numerous prominent scholars. A distinguished Iranian scholar and politician, Abtahi has held several key political and administrative positions. He served as the Chief of Staff to former President Mohammad Khatami from August 10, 1997, until September 2, 2001, and as Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs from September 2, 2001, until October 12, 2004. Currently, he presides over the Board of Directors of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue, and is particularly noted for his deep commitment to Islamic-Christian dialogue.