Reformist science minister impeached by hardliners

Iran’s Minister for Science, Research and Technology Reza Faraji Dana was impeached last Wednesday after conservative-led factions in Iran’s parliament, known as the Majlis, held a no-confidence vote to dismiss him from his post.

The minister had been in office for just 10 months, after lawmakers refused to approve Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s initial nominee as science minister last year.

The post, which includes responsibility for higher education, is a sensitive one because of recent anti-government uprisings, including the so-called ‘Green Revolution’ movement of 2009, which began on university campuses.

Of the 270 lawmakers present during the special Majlis session last Wednesday, 145 legislators voted against Faraji Dana, 110 in his favour and 15 abstained, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Observers said the Majlis chamber erupted in cheers when the result was announced by parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani.

A conservative lawmaker Elias Naderan said: “We want to change the head of the education ministry so that the uprisings of 2009 and 1999 in the universities do not recur.”

Challenge to reform moves

However President Rouhani, who did not attend the special impeachment session of the Majlis – held while he was scheduled to be out of Tehran – issued a decree within minutes appointing Faraji Dana as his advisor for science and education, in an attempt to shore up his authority.

The impeachment of the science minister is seen by analysts as a direct challenge to Rouhani’s reformist moves.

At the same time, Rouhani appointed Mohammad Ali Najafi, currently minister of culture and tourism, as caretaker science minister until a new minister is nominated. This must be done within two weeks, according to the rules.

Parliament had been gunning for Faraji Dana for more than two months, threatening impeachment – most recently in June.

They accused the minister of politicising the academic environment and criticised him for appointing some political figures as his advisors.

Accusations against Faraji Dana

Some 51 lawmakers introduced the impeachment move two weeks ago – an impeachment requires the backing of at least 10 lawmakers.

Among their accusations was that the minister had allowed “the birth of new uprisings” in universities by withdrawing security personnel from campuses.

Faraji Dana was also accused of allowing so called ‘starred’ students, barred from universities and denoted with a star by their names for political activities, to return to campus after having been expelled for ‘moral and political reasons’.

“More than 140 students who had security accusations against them have been allowed back into universities,” said Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi, a former minister of science under the previous regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

Mehr also reported Faraji Dana as saying that “students are young and can make mistakes”, adding that they should not have to endure heavy punishments.

Defence fails

The Majlis public session, during which Faraji Dana answered lawmakers' questions for half an hour in his bid to remain in his post, was broadcast on national radio.

“Why present [students] as the enemy?” Faraji Dana said at one point, defending the withdrawing of police and intelligence officers from campuses.

He questioned the need for heightened security. The atmosphere in universities had been at their most calm and secure during his tenure in the ministry, he maintained.

While Faraji Dana’s attempts to reduce campus security angered conservatives, the conservative backlash grew when he introduced a new selection process for university heads, allowing faculty to put forward a name to the minister who then seeks the approval of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution – a conservative body including clerics – which has the final say.

Previously university academics were not given a role. But Faraji Dana argued that the old system led to the appointment of university presidents who were under-qualified, or were connected to the regime and allowed loyalists and family members to gain top posts.

The ousted minister had also begun an investigation into some 3,000 scholarships granted under Ahmadinejad's regime, saying he would cancel them if they were found to be illegitimately awarded – a move which angered those who benefited under the previous regime.

* Yojana Sharma contributed to this article.