Iran’s Supreme Leader has appointed former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Expediency Council.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s website reports: “In consideration of your valuable eight-year effort as president and the experience you have gathered on this path, I appoint you to membership in the Expediency Council.”
Ayatollah Khamenei was a strong supporter during Ahmadinejad’s presidency; however, in the last few years they did have some disputes, especially when Ahmadinejad tried to replace intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi.
The Expediency Council became a part of the Islamic Republic legal system in 1997 and is charged with reviewing the constitution.
The current members were appointed in 2011 for a five-year term. The heads of the three branches of government are automatically members of the body; however, Ahmadinejad did not often attend Expediency Council meetings during his tenure as president.
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani is Chairman of the Expediency Council, and in 2011, MirHosein Mousavi, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Mohammad Hashemi were amongst the members removed from the council by Ayatollah Khamenei.
