Reuters: Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s nominees to run the ministries of education, cooperatives and social welfare, Parliament Speaker Gholamali Haddadadel said. TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s nominees to run the ministries of education, cooperatives and social welfare, Parliament Speaker Gholamali Haddadadel said.
Earlier on Wednesday Ahmadinejad’s nominee to run the Oil Ministry, Sadeq Mahsouli, withdrew his candidacy in the face of criticism from lawmakers about his lack of experience and his personal wealth.
The four ministerial posts have been held by caretakers since August when Ahmadinejad’s original choices failed to secure enough votes in parliament.
Mahmoud Farshidi for education, Mohammad Nazemi-Ardakani for cooperatives and Parviz Kazemi for social welfare all secured the necessary simple majority of votes from the 260 lawmakers present at the session.
The Oil Ministry will continue to be run by caretaker Kazem Vaziri-Mahaneh until Ahmadinejad puts forward a new nominee to parliament.
Many lawmakers have criticised Ahmadinejad for picking inexperienced figures for his cabinet.
The president, a former Revolutionary Guard and mayor of Tehran, defended his selections in a speech to lawmakers.
“We should follow this path of putting unknown people in key posts to encourage our young people and show that they too can be successful,” he said.
