Cabinet of Iran
 |
| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Iran |
|
|
Leadership |
|
Executive
|
|
|
|
The Cabinet of Iran (officially: Persian: دولت ايران, Government of Iran) is a formal body composed of government officials, ministers, chosen and led by a President. Its composition must be approved by a vote in the Parliament. According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the President may dismiss members of the cabinet, but must do so in writing, and new appointees must again be approved by the Parliament. The cabinet meets weekly on Saturdays in Tehran. There may be additional meetings if circumstances require it. The president chairs the meetings.
History
From 1699 until 1907 the Iranian cabinet was led by Premiers who were appointed by the Shah of Iran.
The Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905 led to the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906 and the establishment of the Iranian parliament, whose members were elected from the general population. The position of premier was abolished and replaced by the Prime Minister of Iran. The constitution stipulated that all Prime Minister must be subject to a vote in parliament for both approval and removal.
During the period 1907 to 1951 all Prime Ministers were selected by the Shah and subject to a vote-of-confidence by the Iranian Parliament. From 1951 to 1953, the members of parliament elected the Prime Minister among themselves (the head of the party holding the majority of seats), through a vote-of-confidence. The Shah, as the head of state, then appointed the parliament's selection to the position of Prime Minister, in accordance with the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Following the removal of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh via the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, this practice was abolished and the selection of Prime Minister reverted to the process in effect before 1951.
Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the position of Shah was removed as the head of state, effectively ending Iran's history of monarchy. Iran's new Islamic constitution stipulated that the President of Iran would nominate the Iranian cabinet, including the Prime Minister, which was to be approved by a vote-of-confidence in the Iranian parliament. The constitutional amendment of 1989 effectively ended the position of Prime Minister and transferred its powers to that of the president and vice president.
2009 appointments
President Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.[1]
On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership.[2] The Vice Chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a reapproval.[3]
The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on 19 August 2009.[4] On 4 September, Parliament of Iran approved 18 of the 21 candidates and rejected three of them, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Parliament for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi is the first woman approved by Parliament as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[5]
2011 merges and dismissals
On 9 May, Ahmedinejad announced Ministries of Petroleum and Energy would merge, as would Industries and Mines with Commerce, and Welfare with Labour. On 13 May, he dismissed Masoud Mir Kazemi (Minister of Petroleum), Aliakbar Mehrabian (Minister Industry and Mines) and Sadeq Mahsouli (Minister of Welfare). On 15 May, he was announced he would be caretaker minister of the Petroleum Ministry.[6] From August 2009 to February 2013, a total of nine ministers in the cabinet was dismissed by the Majlis, the last of who was labor minister, Reza Sheykholeslam at the beginning of February 2013.[7]
Rouhani's cabinet
Hassan Rouhani was elected as President of Iran in 2013 presidential election and took office on 3 August 2013. He nominated his coalition cabinet members to the parliament for vote of confidence on the next day. 15 out of 18 designated ministers was confirmed by the parliament.
Cabinet members
| Office | Incumbent (Coa) | Since | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidency | ||||
| President | Hassan Rouhani (M) | 3 August 2013 | ||
| First Vice President | Eshaq Jahangiri (R) | 4 August 2013 | ||
| Chief of Staff | Mohammad Nahavandian (C) | 4 August 2013 | ||
| Ministers | ||||
| Agricultural | Mahmoud Hojjati (R) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Communication | Mahmoud Vaezi (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Labour | Ali Rabei (R) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Culture | Ali Jannati (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Defense | Hossein Dehghan (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Finance | Ali Tayebnia (R) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Education | Ali Asghar Fani (M) | 17 August 2013 | ||
| Energy | Hamid Chitchian (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Foreign Affairs | Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Health | Hassan Hashemi (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Business | Mohammadreza Nematzadeh (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Intelligence | Mahmoud Alavi (C) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Interior | Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli (C) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Justice | Mostafa Pourmohammadi (C) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Petroleum | Bijan Namdar Zanganeh (R) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Science | Reza Farajidana (R) | 27 October 2013 | ||
| Transportation | Abbas Ahmad Akhondi (M) | 15 August 2013 | ||
| Sports | Mahmoud Goudarzi (M) | 17 November 2013 | ||
| Ministers of State | ||||
| Atomic Energy | Ali Akbar Salehi (M) | 16 August 2013 | ||
| Cultural Heritage and Tourism | Masoud Soltanifar (R) | 1 February 2014 | ||
| Economic | Masoud Nili (R) | 4 September 2013 | ||
| Environmental Protection | Masoumeh Ebtekar (R) | 10 September 2013 | ||
| Executive Affairs | Mohammad Shariatmadari (R) | 8 October 2013 | ||
| International | Akbar Torkan (M) | 1 September 2013 | ||
| Legal | Elham Aminzadeh (C) | 11 August 2013 | ||
| Martyrs and Veterans | Mohammad-Ali Shahidi (M) | 5 September 2013 | ||
| Parliamentary | Majead Ansari (R) | 1 September 2013 | ||
| National Elites | Sorena Sattari (R) | 5 October 2013 | ||
| Supervision and Strategic | Mohammad Bagher Nobakht (M) | 1 September 2013 | ||
| Women and Family Affairs | Shahindokht Molaverdi (R) | 8 October 2013 | ||
| Others | ||||
| Government's spokesperson | Mohammad Bagher Nobakht (M) | 1 September 2013 | ||
| Head of IRIB | Ezatollah Zarghami (C) | 24 May 2004 | ||
| Secretary of the Security Council | Ali Shamkhani (R) | 11 September 2013 | ||
See also
- Government
- President of Iran
- Parliament of Iran
References
- ↑ Iran president clashes with conservatives. Latimes.com (27 July 2009).
- ↑ AFP: Ahmadinejad 'sacks four Iran ministers'. Google.com (26 July 2009).
- ↑ باهنر: جلسات دولت نهم از این پس غیرقانونی است. Aftabnews.ir.
- ↑ Ahmadinejad unveils new cabinet. Presstv.ir.
- ↑ Middle East | Iran backs first woman minister. BBC News (3 September 2009).
- ↑ Ahmadinejad to Run Iran’s Petroleum Ministry After Minister Dismissed, Ladane Nassen, 15 May 2011
- ↑ Rezaian, Jason (3 February 2013). "Iran's parliament dismisses another Ahmadinejad minister". The Washington Post (Tehran). Retrieved 17 February 2013.
External links
- Memorandum of the foreign trade regime of Iran – 145-page official PDF document describing all Ministries and institutes affiliated to the Government of Iran and their functions.
| |||||||
| |||||||||||