TEHRAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed on Sunday the names of two women ministers for his next cabinet.

The president named former MP Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as health minister, current MP Fateme Ajorloo as welfare and social security minister. The president also said his cabinet will include more “women and youths.”
If approved by the Majlis it will be the first time that women take ministerial posts since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
So far women have acted as presidential advisors or vice presidents but not as ministers.
The naming of Vahid Dastjerdi as health minister was immediately welcomed by MP Alireza Marandi who himself served as the health minister in Hashemi Rafsanjani’s administration.
Ahmadinejad, who was re-elected president in the June 12 presidential polls, also told the IRIB that Industries Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini, and Cooperative Minister Mohammad Abbasi will retain their posts in the next cabinet.
Ahmadinejad also said Endowment and Charity Organization director Heidar Moslehi is his choice for the intelligence minister.
He also said he will nominate at least one more female minister in his cabinet.
On Wednesday, the president will release the names of his cabinet nominees to the Majlis. All ministers must be approved by the Majlis.
The president added “extensive consultations” have been made and these consultations are still continuing on nominating ministers in accordance with “new missions” of the next administration.
Ahmadinejad said the makeup of the administration will undergo changes. “Today we have entered a new scene. Today, both on the local scene and the international scene, our missions have become more complicated.”
The president also cited “efficiency, a spirit of cooperation, and commitment” as three important criteria for selecting ministers.
He added, “Cooperation and constructive interaction within cabinet” is highly important.
For instance, he said persons with “less competence” but with a greater spirit of cooperation are more useful than “qualified” persons who lack necessary interest for team work. He said this has been the most important criterion for choosing ministers.