Reza Rezaee

Mohammad Reza Rezaee (Persian: رضا رضایی; 24 December 1960 – 30 October 2022) was a Norwegian-Iranian politician representing the Marxist, left-wing political party Red.[1]

Rezaee in 2010

Political career

Born and raised in Shiraz in Iran, Rezaee was politically active since he entered 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]

Rezaee 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.

Rezaee died on 30 October 2022, at the age of 61.[4]

Political views

Education

Rezaee supported the abolishment of school grades, as he believed it has a demoralizing effect on students. Additionally, he wanted to remove the concept of Homework, and rather focus on teaching at school. To address the acute shortage of Preschool teachers in Norway, Rezaee called for more of the unskilled employees in kindergartens to be offered continuing education to become teachers.[5]

Foreign policy

A staunch opponent to the state of Israel, Rezaee frequently called for a national arms and trade boycott of the state.[6] Apart from this, he was also 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.[7]

References
  1. Mannsåker, Ola Borge. "Reza Rezaee (1960) – Rødt". Bystyret (in Norwegian). Oslo Kommune. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. Thorenfeldt, Gunnar (26 June 2009). "Tidligere SV-topp spår partiets undergang". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. Barstad, Stine (2 September 2011). "- Mangfoldet er Oslos styrke". Aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  4. "Reza Rezaee 1960-2022: – Vi har mistet en person som var helt unik for bydelen". Sagene Avis. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. Barstad, Stine (2 September 2011). "Slik vil Rezaee løse Oslos utfordringer". Aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. Jørgensen, Marte Holten (1 December 2005). "SV vil ha norsk boikott av Israel". Sv.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. Jørgensen, Marte Holten (31 August 2005). "Frigjør Afrikas siste koloni!". Sv.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 September 2012.
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