Here is a look at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's life.

Personal: Birth date: October 28, 1956

Birthplace: Aradan, Iran

Father: Ahmad Saborjhian, a blacksmith. Ahmadinejad's father changed the family name from Saborjhian to Ahmadinejad after the family moved to Tehran

Mother: Seiyed Khano

Marriage: Married

Children: Two sons and a daughter

Education: Iran University of Science and Technology, Bachelor's and Master's, 1986 (in civil engineering) and Ph.D, 1987 (in transportation engineering

Other Facts: He is a member of the Abadgaran party and is considered ultra-conservative.

He is a very loyal supporter of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Several of the 52 Americans held hostage during the 1979 Islamic Revolution claim Ahmadinejad was one of their captors. Former hostage takers in this incident, who are now political opponents of Ahmadinejad's, deny he was involved.

Timeline: 1986 - Joins the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Late 1980s-Early 90s - Governor of Maku and Khoy in Iran.

1993 - Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Higher Education.

1993-1997 - Governor of Ardabil Province in northwestern Iran.

May 3, 2003-2005 - Appointed mayor of Tehran.

June 24, 2005 - Wins Iran's presidential election by a landslide, defeating Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. Ahmadinejad gets approximately 62% of the vote and immediately begins stating his desire to restart Iran's nuclear program.

August 3, 2005 - Sworn in as president.

October 26, 2005 - During a speech at the World Without Zionism conference in Tehran, he states that "Israel must be wiped off the map."

December 14, 2005 - Speaking to thousands of people in Iranian city of Zahedan, Ahmadinejad states "Today, [Europeans] have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion, and the prophets."

April 11, 2006 - Announces that Iran has produced low-grade enriched uranium that can be used for nuclear power.

September 19, 2006 - One of two featured speakers on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly. The other is President Bush. The two men do not meet.

September 24, 2007 - Speaks at Columbia University. Ahmadinejad denies having ever denied the Holocaust, saying he actually had just introduced "two questions" about it. He is also booed after saying "we don't have homosexuals [in Iran] like in your country."

September 25, 2007 - Speaks to the UN General Assembly.

September 26, 2007 - Christiane Amanpour interviews Ahmadinejad. He unexpectedly gets up and leaves after only a few minutes.