Mohammad Khatami - Post-presidential Career

Post-presidential Career

After his presidency, Khatami founded two NGOs which he currently heads:

• International Institute for Dialogue among Cultures & Civilizations. In Persian: موسسه بین المللی گفتگوی فرهنگها و تمدنها. This institute is a private (non-governmental) institute that was founded by Khatami after the end of his presidency and it is not to be confused with a center with a similar name operated by the foreign ministry of Iran. The European branch of Khatami's institute is headquartered in Geneva and has been registered as Foundation for Dialogue among Civilizations.

• Baran Foundation. BARAN meaning "rain" is an acronym in Persian for "Foundation for Freedom, Growth and Development of Iran" (Persian: بنیاد آزادی، رشد و آبادانی ایران - باران‎). This is also a private (non-governmental) institute founded by Khatami after the end of his presidency (registration announced on 9 September 2005) and a group of his former colleagues during his presidency. This institute is focused on domestic rather than international activities.

Notable events in Khatami's career after his presidency include:

• On 2 September 2005, the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Mohammad Khatami as a member of the Alliance of Civilizations.
• On 28 September 2005, Khatami retires after 29 years of service in the government.
• On 14 November 2005, Mohammad Khatami urged all religious leaders to fight for the abolishment of atomic and chemical weapons.
• On 30 January 2006, Mohammad Khatami officially inaugurated the office of "International Center of Dialogue Among Civilizations". An NGO with offices in Iran and Europe that he will be heading, after his retirement from the government.
• On 15 February 2006, during a press interview Mohammad Khatami announced the formal registration of the European office of his Institute for Dialogue among Civilizations in Geneva.
• On 28 February 2006, while attending a conference of the Alliance of Civilizations at Doha, Qatar, he stated that "The Holocaust is a historical fact." However, he added that Israel has "made a bad use of this historic fact with the persecution of the Palestinian people."
• On 7 September 2006, during a visit to Washington, Mohammad Khatami called for dialogue between the United States and Iran.
• On 24-28 January 2007, Mohammad Khatami attended the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, then U.S. Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney and the then U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell were among those attending. Khatami and Senator John Kerry have expressed similar opinions and shared words with each other in the World Economic Forum in Davos.