Mohammad-Ali Najafi (born 13 January 1952) is mathematician and reformist politician who was the Mayor of Capital, serving in the post for eight months, until April 2018. His early career merged scholarship with public service, as he entered government roles in the years following the 1979 Revolution. He held cabinet portfolios during the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. He is also a retired professor of mathematics at Sharif University of Technology. In July 2019 a court sentenced him to death for premeditated murder, although the sentence was not yet final and could be appealed.
He is a highly educated technocrat (mathematician by training) who moved into high government posts in education, planning, and local government. His shift to mayor of Tehran marked a significant profile for a reform-aligned figure in a role traditionally dominated by conservative forces. His short tenure, resignation, and subsequent scandal have made his career a cautionary tale of the interplay between politics, culture, and social expectation. The murder case and its outcome sparked public debate about accountability, elite privilege, and the justice system.
