Svetlana Velmar-Janković

Mahmoud Farshidi

Minister of Education of Iran
In office 9 November 2005 – 1 December 2007
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Morteza Haji
Succeeded by	Alireza Ali-Ahmadi

Personal details
Born	(1951-05-29)29 May 1951 Iran
Died	12 March 2025(2025-03-12) (aged 73) Iran
Citizenship	Iran
Children	4
Occupation	Politician

Mahmoud Farshidi (Persian: محمود فرشیدی; 29 May 1951^[1] – 12 March 2025) was an Iranian politician and the Minister of Education of Iran from 2005 to 2007.

Life and career

Mahmoud Farshidi was an Iranian politician who served as the Minister of Education under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from who was nominated for the post on 2 November 2005.

There was some controversy over the appointment due to his lack of experience.^[2] He was approved by the Iranian legislature on 9 November by 136 votes to 91.^[3]

His tenure was marked by controversies, including allegations of inappropriate exam questions and the suppression of teachers' protests.

Farshidi was dismissed in December 2007 and replaced by Alireza Ali-Ahmadi, who had close ties to President Ahmadinejad.^[4]

He was a writer for the conservative Resalat newspaper.

Farshidi died in Iran on 12 March 2025, at the age of 73.^[5]

Controversies and Resignation

During his time in office, Farshidi was widely criticized for:

Exam Scandal: National exam questions contained statements perceived as offensive to Islamic teachings.
Teachers' Protests: His administration was accused of violently suppressing union demonstrations demanding better wages and working conditions.

Due to mounting pressure, he was dismissed in December 2007.

References

^ محمود فرشیدی که بود؟ (in Persian)
^ "Iran still seeking a stable government". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
^ "Iran's president wins three cabinet picks, withdraws fourth". globalsecurity.org.
^ Ram (2 December 2007). "Iran's education minister steps down". Iran Focus. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
^ وزیر اسبق آموزش و پرورش، محمود فرشیدی، درگذشت (in Persian)

External links

Article by Mahmoud Farshidi in Resalat newspaper in 2003

Political offices
Preceded by Morteza Haji	Minister of Education 9 November 2005 – 1 December 2007	Succeeded by Alireza Ali Ahmadi

Cabinet of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–2013)

Cabinet
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Manouchehr Mottaki (2005–2010) Ali Akbar Salehi (2010–2013)
Minister of Agriculture	Mohammad-Reza Eskandari (2005–2009) Sadeq Khalilian (2009–2013)
Minister of Communications and IT	Mohammad Soleimani (2005–2009) Reza Taghipour (2009–2012) Ali Nikzad* (2012–2013) Mohammad-Hassan Nami (2013)
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs	Mohammad Jahromi (2005–2009) Reza Sheykholeslam (2009–2011)
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance	Hossein Saffar Harandi (2005–2009) Mohammad Hosseini (2009–2013)
Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics	Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (2005–2009) Ahmad Vahidi (2009–2013)
Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance	Davoud Danesh-Jafari (2005–2008) Hossein Samsami* (2008) Shamseddin Hosseini (2008–2013)
Minister of Education	Ali-Asghar Fani* (2005) Mahmoud Farshidi (2005–2007) Alireza Ali-Ahmadi (2007–2009) Ramezan Mohsenpour* (2009) Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee (2009–2013)
Minister of Energy	Parviz Fattah (2005–2009) Majid Namjoo (2009–2013)
Minister of Health and Medical Education	Kamran Bagheri Lankarani (2005–2009) Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi (2009–2012) Hassan Tarighat Monfared (2012-2013)
Minister of Industries and Mines	Alireza Tahmasbi (2005–2007) Ali Akbar Mehrabian (2007–2011) Mehdi Ghazanfari* (2011)
Minister of Intelligence	Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhe'i (2005–2009) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad* (2009) Heydar Moslehi (2009–2013)
Minister of Interior	Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi (2005–2008) Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi* (2008) Ali Kordan (2008) Kamran Daneshjoo* (2008) Sadegh Mahsouli (2008–2009) Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (2009–2013)
Minister of Justice	Jamal Karimi-Rad (2005–2006) Gholam-Hossein Elham (2006–2009) Morteza Bakhtiari (2009–2013)
Minister of Petroleum	Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh (2005–2007) Gholam-Hossein Nozari (2007–2009) Masoud Mir-Kazemi (2009–2011) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad* (2011) Mohammad Aliabadi* (2011) Rostam Ghasemi (2011–2013)
Minister of Roads and Transportation	Mohammad Rahmati (2005–2008) Hamid Behbahani (2008–2011) Ali Nikzad* (2011)
Minister of Commerce	Masoud Mir-Kazemi (2005–2009) Mehdi Ghazanfari (2009–2011)
Minister of Science, Research and Technology	Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi (2005–2009) Kamran Daneshjoo (2009–2013)
Minister of Welfare and Social Security	Davoud Madadi* (2005) Parviz Kazemi (2005-2006) Ali Yousefpour* (2006) Abdolreza Mesri (2006–2009) Nad-Ali Olfatpour* (2009) Sadegh Mahsouli (2009–2011)
Ministry of Cooperatives	Mohammad Ardakani (2005–2006) Mohammad Abbasi (2006–2011)
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development	Mohammad Saeedikia (2005–2009) Ali Nikzad (2009–2011)
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports	Mohammad Abbasi (2011–2013)
Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Welfare	Reza Sheykholeslam (2011–2013) Asadollah Abbasi (2013)
Minister of Industries and Business	Mehdi Ghazanfari (2011–2013)
Minister of Roads and Urban Development	Ali Nikzad (2011–2013)

Cabinet-level
First Vice President	Parviz Davoodi (2005–2009) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2009) Mohammad Reza Rahimi (2009–2013)
Head of President's Office	Gholam-Hossein Elham (2005–2007) Reza Sheykholeslam (2007-2009) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2009–2012) Mir-Hassan Mousavi (2012–2013)
Chief of Staff	Ali Saeedlou (2005–2009) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2009–2011) Hamid Baghaei (2011–2013)
Vice President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization	Gholam Reza Aghazadeh (2005–2009) Ali Akbar Salehi (2009–2010) Mohammad Ahmadian* (2010–2011) Fereydoon Abbasi (2011–2013)
Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization	Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2005–2009) Hamid Baghaei (2009–2011) Ruhollah Ahmadzadeh (2011–2012) Mir-Hassan Mousavi (2012) Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh (2012–2013)
Vice President and Head of Environmental Protection Organization	Fatemeh Javadi (2005–2009) Mohammad-Javad Mohammadizadeh (2009–2013)
Vice President and Head of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs	Hossein Dehghan (2005–2009) Masoud Zaribafan (2009–2013)
Vice President and Head of Management and Planning Organization of Iran	Farhad Rahbar (2005–2006) Amir-Mansour Borgheie (2006–2007)
Vice President for Supervision and Strategic Affairs	Amir-Mansour Borgheie (2007–2009) Ebrahim Azizi (2009–2012) Behrouz Moradi (2012–2013)
Vice President and Head of Physical Education Organization	Mohammad Aliabadi (2005–2009) Ali Saeedlou (2009–2011)
Vice President for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs	Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi (2005–2008) Majid Jafarzadeh* (2008) Mohammad Reza Rahimi (2008–2009)
Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs	Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini (2009–2012) Lotfollah Forouzandeh (2012–2013)
Vice President for Legal Affairs	Fatemeh Bodaghi (2009–2013)
Vice President for Management and Human Resources Development	Amir-Mansour Borgheie* (2007) Ebrahim Azizi (2007–2009) Lotfollah Forouzandeh (2009–2012) Ebrahim Azizi (2012) Gholam-Hossein Elham (2012–2013)
Vice President and Head of National Elites Foundation	Parviz Davoodi (2006–2007) Sadegh Vaez-Zadeh (2007–2009) Nasrin Soltankhah (2009–2013)
Vice President and Head of National Youth Organization	Javad Haj Aliakbari (2005–2009) Mehrdad Bazrpash (2009–2010) Homayoun Hamidi* (2011)
Vice President for Women and Family Affairs	Maryam Mojtahedzadeh (2013)
Vice President for Executive Affairs	Hamid Baghaei (2011–2013)
Vice President for Foreign Affairs	Ali Saeedlou (2011–2013)
Vice President for Enforcing the Constitution	Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini (2012–2013)

* Acting

Education ministers of Iran
Hedayati Parsa Houshang Ganji Habibollahi^a Ameli Riahi Shokouhi Rajai Bahonar Shegarf^a Parvaresh Moayyed^a Mousavi^a Akrami Abtahi^a Najafi Mozaffar Haji Fani^a Farshidi Ali-Ahmadi Mohsenpour^a Hajibabaee Fani Bathaei^a Ahmadi Bathaei Hosseini^a Haji-Mirzaei Kazemi^a Noori Sahraei Kazemi
^a Acting

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Svetlana Velmar-Janković

Life and career

Controversies and Resignation

References

External links

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