Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi (born 1953 in

Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...

) is an Iranian politician and was the former minister of science and technology in

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

. Mr. Zahedi was approved by Iran's parliament with the fewest supporting votes possible (supporters had only one vote more than opponents). He was elected as a

Member of the Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. He was reelected in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. On 1 January 2017, he has announced that he would run for presidency in 2017 presidential election. His nomination was rejected by the

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

Academia

Zahedi received his PhD in Mathematics from Kerman University where he is currently a "full professor". He is the first graduate of a PhD in mathematics in Iran. Zahedi has 15 scientific articles in ISI with very few citations (most of them self citations). He repeatedly called himself "one of the greatest mathematicians of the time". With such a minor scientific achievement he was promoted to full professorship in 1999 (when he had only published 11 articles). Zahedi's profile claims he is a member of

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...

. An investigation by

BBC Persian BBC Persian ( fa, بی‌بی‌سی فارسی) is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and ...

in July 2009 debunked this claim. His profile also claims that he was named among the most prominent Mathematicians of the century by

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

for which there is no evidence found on

website.

Expulsion of university scientists

In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government systematically forced numerous Iranian scientists and University professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as a ''second cultural revolution''. The policy has been said to replace current professors with younger ones. Many University professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly. However many believe that the government's main goal is to replace Iranian scientists with fundamentalists and finally convert the universities into

Hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...

(traditional religious schools). Despite huge demonstrations and protests of Iranian students, Zahedi appointed several

mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...

s with no academic degrees as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

s of several Universities (the most prominent example being that of

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

Expelling the politically active students

Zahedi has expelled dozens of politically active students and those who were working in internal newspaper of university by refusing to enroll them for the new academic year (Fall 2006). He first denied the existence of such students but recently he said that those students had criminal cases such as robbery and sexual harassment. This made the students very angry and they asked the MPs for his impeachment.

Ignoring scientific merit in appointments

Zahedi's appointments and dismissals at the Science, Research and Technology Ministry were not based on merit. University chancellors had been formerly appointed after consulting university professors. However, the situation changed as Zahedi become Iran's minister of science and the criterion of meritocracy has been ignored. Zahedi appointed

Abbasali Amid Zanjani Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani (30 March 1937 – 30 October 2011) was an Iranian politician and cleric. He was the only cleric president of University of Tehran, who himself had had no academic education of any kind, that served from 2005 to 2008. Ear ...

, a cleric with no academic degree, as the chancellor of Tehran University.

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