Iran's Minister of Culture Mohammed Husseini expressed his hope that no member of the Academy of Arts will retire, and said that otherwise, new members will be accepted to the Academy, MEHR news agency reported
"Members of Council of Cultural Revolution expressed dissatisfaction with the transformation of the Academy into a political center and with that Academy carries out its duties improperly. Therefore, the members of the Council of Cultural Revolution decided to change the rector of the Academy and elected Ali Muallim Damganini to this post," Husseini said.
He said that according to the former laws, the new rector was elected by the members of the Academy. "According to the new law, rector and members in all Academies will be elected by Iran's Council of Cultural Revolution," Husseini said.
Several days earlier, Mir Hussein Mousavi who belongs to the Iran's opposition camp was dismissed from rector office of the Academy of Arts. This decision was made by the Iran's Council of Cultural Revolution, president of which is the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mousavi was the rector of the Academy of Arts during the eleven years since its founding.
Several members of the Academy resigned as a sign of protest in connection with Mousavi's dismissal from office.
After the presidential elections in Iran June 12, the opposition refused to recognize the results of the voting, calling the elections rigged. Reformist candidates Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi reported extensive electoral fraud.
Observers say the protests after the elections were the largest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Hundreds of political activists were arrested and dozens of civilians were killed.