20 Facts About Mazyar Keshvari

Mazyar Keshvari is an Iranian-born Norwegian former politician for the Progress Party and a convicted felon who is serving two prison sentences for fraud and violent threats.

Mazyar Keshvari was elected as a substitute member of the Norwegian parliament for the city of Oslo in 2013, representing the right-wing and anti-immigration Progress Party, and attended parliamentary sessions from 2013 to 2018 as the substitute of the mandate holder Siv Jensen who has been on leave from parliament during her government service.

Mazyar Keshvari left the Norwegian parliament following his indictment in 2018 and left the Progress Party in October 2019.

Mazyar Keshvari joined the Youth of the Progress Party in 2001 and quickly became a rising star, first chairing the local Groruddalen chapter and later chairing its Oslo chapter from 2004 to 2006; he is still a member of its Central committee.

Mazyar Keshvari has been editor-in-chief of the political magazine Fri Kapitalisme.

Mazyar Keshvari was first elected to Oslo city council in 2007, and was re-elected for another term in 2011, and is the current chairman of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services.

Since 2005, Keshvari has been serving as a deputy representative from Oslo to the Parliament of Norway.

Mazyar Keshvari was re-elected to a second four-year term running to 2013.

Mazyar Keshvari has made his mark in the Norwegian public sphere as a staunch opponent of the Iranian theocracy, often condemning the regime in the media.

Mazyar Keshvari is known taking a hard stance on immigration, calling for a complete ban on further immigration to Norway, a stop to the practice of accepting asylum seekers in Norway, and the deportation of immigrants convicted of crimes.

Mazyar Keshvari has stated that immigrants who do not comply with "Norwegian values" should "beat it".

Mazyar Keshvari has repeatedly called for a complete ban on further immigration to Norway, stating that it is not sustainable in the long-term.

Outspoken against what he perceives as progressive ethnic segregation of Oslo neighborhoods, Mazyar Keshvari has repeatedly accused fellow politicians who reside in Oslo's largely homogeneous west-end of having "elitist-attitudes" when praising the situation.

Mazyar Keshvari has advocated a rich and diverse wildlife in and around Oslo.

In 2014 Mazyar Keshvari was accused of making death threats against NRK debate moderator Ingunn Solheim in an Oslo pub.

Mazyar Keshvari maintained that the comments were made in jest, and NRK decided against filing charges.

In 2018 Aftenposten revealed that Mazyar Keshvari had received several reimbursements of travel expenses for trips that he could not possibly have made.

Mazyar Keshvari admitted to defrauding the Storting, and declared that he wanted to make amends and pay back the reimbursements.

In February 2019, Mazyar Keshvari was arrested for making "serious threats" involving a firearm.

Mazyar Keshvari is a patron of fine arts including paintings, and especially the works of Edvard Munch, replicas of which adorned his former office at Oslo City Hall.