Mehr News – After 8 intensive sessions of Parl. debates on Pres. Rouhani’s picks for his second-term cabinet, lawmakers gave a vote of confidence to 16 out of 17 candidates for ministry positions.
Among the candidates, Defense Minister Amir Hatami, Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif won an overwhelming vote of confidence from the 288 MPs present at the session.
Habibollah Bitaraf, Rouhani’s pick for Ministry of Energy, failed to win the majority of lawmakers’ vote of confidence, with only 133 in favor and 132 against. The President’s cabinet still lacks a minister for Ministry of Science and will be ran by a deputy until the president introduces a candidate for the position.
The following is the list of Rouhani’s second-term cabinet ministers in order of the highest votes received:
Ministry of Defense, Amir Hatami: 261 votes
Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Seyyed Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi: 253 votes
Ministry of Intelligence, Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi: 252 votes
Interior Ministry, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli: 250 votes
Ministry of Justice, Seyyed Alireza Avaei: 244 votes
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Abbas Salehi: 242 votes
Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, Mohammad Shariatmadari: 241 votes
Ministry of Economy and Finance, Masoud Karbasian: 240 votes
Ministry of Education, Seyyed Mohammad Bathaei: 238 votes
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif: 236 votes
Ministry of Petroleum, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh: 230 votes
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Masoud Soltanifar: 225 votes
Ministry of Cooperation, Labor and Social Welfare, Ali Rabiei: 191 votes
Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Akhoundi: 188 votes
Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Hojjati: 164 votes
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi: 152 votes
