Prime minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989, during the war with Iraq, and the main reform candidate in the 2009 presidential election, whose disputed result led to mass protests known as the Green Movement.
After the 2009 Iranian election, Mousavi's supporters took to the streets in protest.
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The protests were named for his campaign colour: in Chinese, 绿色运动. He was placed under house arrest in Tehran in 2011. He is an architect by training and also a painter.