A painter and an architect, he devoted himself to the arts and later sold some of his works to raise money for his campaign. They are jumbles of abstract geometric shapes and flowers, incorporating elements of architecture and design into works that use light touches of color.
Before the revolution, Mousavi was a follower both of Khomeini and Iranian activist Ali Shariati, who combined Marxist and Islamist doctrine in speeches he presented at the Hosseinieh Ershad, a famous mosque in north Tehran.
But during the 1990s and since, Mousavi also began expanding his understanding of the world, acquainting himself with thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Juergen Habermas and Edward Said, according to Said Hosseinian, a friend and colleague who served in his campaign.
"He is an open-minded technocrat with religious ideology," said Saleh Nikbakht, a Tehran attorney who knows him. "Though he admits that he follows the late Khomeini's path, in fact he belongs to a moderate school with a nationalist democratic legacy and a tolerance of other opinions."
Though Ahmadinejad fashions himself as a populist in support of the poor, Hosseinian said Mousavi always leaned toward the left in his outlook. "He believed the poor have suffered more than the others," he said.
During the 1997 to 2005 presidency of his friend, reformist Mohammad Khatami, Mousavi began dabbling again in politics, serving as an informal speechwriter and behind-the-scenes advisor.
All along, he has had an extraordinary relationship with his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, a nationally venerated scholar, artist and educator who often appeared alongside him on the campaign trail and now speaks out for him at public events.
"She's not passive, behind the wall. She's very much in evidence and vocal," said Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert at Durham University in Britain. She's always been very well known and has got quite a following amongst the intellectuals."
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Symbol of unrest
In television appearances, Mousavi told viewers that he reentered political life because he was worried about the direction Ahmadinejad was taking the country.
He portrayed himself as someone who had been there at the beginning of the revolution and was now prepared to come back into the fray to save the nation from economic ruin and international isolation. He has voiced his commitment to Khomeini's ideals but also dared to say that the Islamic Republic needs to resurrect promises of freedom, transparency, rule of law and democracy as well as Islam.
Unlike Khatami, who was thwarted in his pursuit to open Iran's political system, some say, Mousavi is a die-hard who is prepared to go farther than the mild-mannered cleric.
"I think Mousavi is the man who is more prepared for this fight than Khatami would have been," Ehteshami said.
But gusto may not be enough. To take on such powerful adversaries as Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, Mousavi must also have the political savvy to muster popular support and recruit institutional allies, experts say. Khamenei, who has emerged as Ahmadinejad's No. 1 champion, has all those things, unlike Mousavi.
"Mousavi is not a charismatic guy," said an analyst in Tehran, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He became more and more liked by people as the campaign went on, but more as a symbol of people's dissatisfaction."
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daragahi@latimes.com
kim.murphy@latimes.com
Mostaghim is a special correspondent.
