Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 4
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The Iranian parliament approved Saeed Namaki as the new health minister of the country in a vote of confidence session Feb. 4, Trend reports via Mehr news agency.
The session was held with the participation of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
At the end of the session, lawmakers approved Saeed Namaki with 229 votes in favor, 25 against and 4 abstentions.
Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the previous health minister, resigned from his position over proposed budget cuts in early January.
Born in Kashan, central Iran, Namaki has a Ph.D. in pharmacy and is considered the first non-physician Iranian health minister.
He is a member of Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences faculty and has served as deputy head of Planning and Budget Organization and also deputy chief of Iran’s Department of Environment.