Analyzing Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet Picks

President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet picks are both progressive and hard-line.  His choices upset both the clerics and the West.  On one hand, Ahmadinejad is breaking a taboo by appointing three women ministers to the cabinet.  On the other hand, he is continuing the same anti-West attitude by appointing a minister accused of bombing a Jewish center in Argentina.  Though all his nominations reflect one fact: he chose ministers that he believes would be loyal to him.

Women Cabinet Ministers

It is easy to dismiss Ahmadinejad’s decision to appoint three female ministers to his 21-member cabinet as a ploy to soften his hard-line image, but he still deserves some credit.  His nomination of women ministers is a bold move.  Iran has not had any female ministers since the 1979 revolution.  Even under the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami, women were only given the token sub-ministerial posts.  Ahmadinejad’s appointment of Sousan Keshvaraz, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi and Fatemeh Ajorlou as his ministers respectively of education, health and welfare, and social security should be applauded.

However, it looks like he will not be getting any praise from the conservative parliamentarians.  Mohammad Taghi Rahbar, a member of the parliament’s judiciary committee, has stated there are “religious doubts” over how women would cope with the positions.  According to the Press TV, he went on to say:

“Many Maraje-e Taqlid [the most senior clerics or grand ayatollahs], such as Ayatolah Safi-Golpayegani and Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi have doubts about choosing female ministers and want Ahmadinejad to reconsider.”

“Although picking female ministers was an innovative idea adopted by Ahmadinejad, there are religious uncertainties surrounding the limits of women’s abilities and their management, which the administration must pay attention to.”

But before we label all Iranian men as misogynists, there are some Iranian parliamentarians like Hossein-Ali Shahriyari, who have said that sex would not play a role in the three women candidates’ chances of winning the parliament’s approval.  As reported in the Press TV, Shahriyari stated, “The parliament’s vote of confidence has nothing to do with whether the [proposed] ministers are men or women. What is important is their executive experience.”  He then went on to praise Vahid-Dastjerdi’s track record and said that she had the necessary criteria to take on the position of health minister.

International Condemnation

Ahmadinejad’s nominee for defense minister, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, has drawn international condemnation.  Vahidi is wanted by Interpol in connection with a bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina in 1994, which left 85 people dead.  He is believed to have been head of the al-Quds Brigades, a covert operation branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards – a group whose existence is not acknowledged by Iran.

Parliamentary Dissatisfaction with Other Major Nominations

Several high profile parliamentarians have criticized the President for picking ministers that are relatively young and little known.  The Speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani, was quoted as saying that a minister must have experience and expertise, as “a ministry is not a place for tryouts.”  Other parliamentarians rebuked the President for nominating people lacking knowledge of their relevant departments, most notably the new Intelligence Minister, Heidar Moslehi.  Ahmad Tavakoli, a conservative MP, disapproving Ahmadinejad’s pick of Moslehi, asked, “How can someone who has not spent a single day of their lives in intelligence work, whose most important work was as the head of a charitable organization, be suitable for the intelligence ministry?”  Similar criticisms have met Masoud Mirkazemi for his nomination for the post of oil minister.  He is currently the commerce minister, but has been accused of having little knowledge of the oil industry.

Another controversial choice is the re-appointment of the Industry Minister, Ali Akbaar Mehrabian.  Mehrabian was recently convicted for fraud.

As noted in the BBC, it looks like that Ahmadinejad “has gone for loyalty over experience in his new cabinet.”  As such, it is no surprise that Ahmadinejad’s nominees are closely related to the Revolutionary Guards:

Both Mr. Mirkazemi and those nominated for the intelligence and interior ministries have a background within the Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, which is seen as fiercely loyal to the values of the Islamic Republic.  A key figure in the running of the disputed presidential election, Kamran Daneshju, has been given the ministerial post in charge of universities.  Another important security appointment is the move of the Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar to the interior ministry.  He is another man closely connected with the Revolutionary Guards, a further indication of their growing power over internal security.

Brewing Battle Between Ahmadinejad and the Parliament

The Deputy Speakers of Parliament, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, has already stated that four or five of the nominees would be rejected by the Parliament – though he did not specify which.  In 2005, after Mr. Ahmadinejad’s first election victory, the Parliament rejected four of his ministerial nominations.  Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaii, has also been banned from public office for two months (As discussed in earlier posts, Ahmadinejad had named Mashaii as his vice-president soon after his disputed re-election in June, but backed down in the face of opposition from the Supreme Leader).

Though it looks like Ahmadinejad will not go down with out a fight.  As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Ahmadinejad took the unusual step of appearing live on state-owned television last Thursday to defend his cabinet choices one by one in a lengthy broadcast. As the screen showed pictures and bullet-points of the credentials of each proposed cabinet member with bullet points listing his or her qualifications, the president reiterated the nominee’s devout religious credentials and commitment to the Islamic Revolution.

In the end, this brewing battle between the President and the Parliament will be decided by how much support the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, is willing to give to Ahmadinejad.  If Ayatollah’s decision to hire Sadeq Larijani to be the head of the judiciary is any indication of the future, it looks like Ahmadinejad may not have the support he desperately needs (The relationship between the Larijani brothers and Ahmadinejad have been discussed in a previous blog).

Photo taken from the Guardian.

Photo taken from the Press TV.

Photo taken from Al- Jazeera.