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Profile: Mohammad Khatami

Mohammad Khatami arrived on the political scene in Iran with a stunning victory in the 1997 presidential elections.

Until then a little known cleric, he captured almost 70% of the vote, humiliating the conservative candidate.

Unlike the dour, unsmiling ayatollahs Iranians had become accustomed to, here was an Islamic leader of a very different kind.

"He didn't just charm me, he charmed the whole country - and that's why he was elected in 1997 in that stunning victory," says Elaine Sciolino, a writer on Iran for the New York Times .

"This is a man who went on public buses. He's the kind of baby-kissing politician we're used to here in the United States. He rolled up his sleeves publicly and gave blood. He tries to straddle the world of Islam and Islamic clericalism, and the world of the people."

Iranians were struck by the new president's openness to fresh ideas.

Opposition and achievements

At the end of his first term, Mr Khatami has not been able to put his reformist programme into practice.

Much of the press that backs Mr Khatami's reforms has been silenced, and many of the president's supporters have been jailed or face charges.

But there have been some notable achievements.

"First of all, there's a change in ideas, and that's very important. Khatami's discourse of civil society, democracy, transparency, rule of law, and all this - which were quite absent in the 1980s - became dominant concepts, so that even certain segments of the conservatives tried to speak a similar language," Iranian sociologist Asef Bayat argues.

Gradualist

Mr Khatami believes in gradual change, despite the pressure from his own supporters who want faster and more radical reforms.

The disappointment of his reformist supporters has led many to question whether the president can deliver even gradual reform.

Announcing his candidacy, Mr Khatami described himself as a "reluctant" candidate because of his failure to deliver what he promised four years ago.

Despite all his difficulties, Mr Khatami is still expected to win by a large majority.

Most Iranians agree with their president that, sooner or later, change in Iran is inevitable despite the rearguard action of the conservatives.