Reza Rezaee

Reza Rezaee (2010)

Reza Rezaee (Persian: رضا رضایی‎‎; born December 24, 1960) is a Norwegian-Iranian politician representing the Marxist, left-wing political party Red.[1]

Political career

Born and raised in Shiraz in Iran, Rezaee has been politically active since he joined politics as a 16-year-old in Iran. Due to this, he fled his homeland and arrived in Norway as a refugee in 1989, eventually settling in Oslo. He became active in the Socialist Left Party, sitting on the Central Committee. He lost his standing in the latter after publicly calling for leader Kristin Halvorsen to step down, following a controversial decision to send Norwegian combat troops to serve in the War in Afghanistan.[2]

He left the party altogether in 2009 due to the party's support for the war while in government. He joined the revolutionary socialist party Red (Norwegian: Rødt) instead.[3] In the 2011 local elections, he stood as the party's candidate for Mayor of Oslo. Although not elected mayor, he was elected into the Oslo City Council, along with Bjørnar Moxnes, the party's chairman.

Political views

Education

Rezaee supports the abolishment of school grades, as he believes it has a demoralizing effect on students. Additionally he wants to remove the concept of Homework, and rather focus on teaching at school. To address the acute shortage of Preschool teachers in Norway, Rezaee has called for more of the unskilled employees in kindergartens to be offered continuing education to become teachers.[4]

Foreign policy

A staunch opponent to the state of Israel, Rezaee has frequently called for a national arms and trade boycott of the state.[5] Apart from this, he has also been active in the support for the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara conflict, repeatedly condemning the state of Morocco for alleged human rights violations against the Sahrawi population.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Mannsåker, Ola Borge. "Reza Rezaee (1960) – Rødt". Bystyret (in Norwegian). Oslo Kommune. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  2. ↑ Thorenfeldt, Gunnar (26 June 2009). "Tidligere SV-topp spår partiets undergang". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  3. ↑ Barstad, Stine (2 September 2011). "- Mangfoldet er Oslos styrke". Aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  4. ↑ Barstad, Stine (2 September 2011). "Slik vil Rezaee løse Oslos utfordringer". Aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  5. ↑ Jørgensen, Marte Holten (1 December 2005). "SV vil ha norsk boikott av Israel". Sv.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  6. ↑ Jørgensen, Marte Holten (31 August 2005). "Frigjør Afrikas siste koloni!". Sv.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-09-04.
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