Iran Parliament Gives Vote of Confidence to Rouhani’s Ministerial Picks

According to the results declared by Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on state TV, 225 lawmakers voted in favour of Reza Ardakanian, the proposed minister of energy.

180 lawmakers also gave a vote of confidence to Mansour Gholami, the proposed minister of science.

Ardakanian was proposed after Rouhani’s earlier pick Habibollah Bitaraf failed to receive a vote of confidence from Iranian MPs back in September.

Ardakanian, an international expert in management of water resources and environment, holds a PhD degree in Water Resources Management from Canada’s McMaster University.

He is the Founding Director of the UN University’s Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (known as UNU-FLORES).

He has been on the boards of various international programmes/organizations such as the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme, the UNESCO Institute for Water Education, the International Hydropower Association, and the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security.

A faculty member at Sharif University of Technology, Ardakanian formerly held a number of national offices in Iran, including Deputy Energy Minister for Water Affairs (2001–2005).

Gholami was also put to the vote of lawmakers on Sunday as Rouhani’s first pick for the post. The Iranian president had not picked anyone as his science minister when proposing his cabinet to the Parliament in September.

Currently the dean of Hamadan’s Buali Sina University, he holds a PhD degree in Agriculture from Australia’s University of Adelaide.