Government proposes Madanizadeh as new economy minister
Ali Madanizadeh was on Sunday introduced to the Iranian Parliament by the government as the proposed Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, said the spokesperson for the Presiding Board of the Parliament.
“Ali Madanizadeh has been introduced to the Parliament as the government's proposed candidate for the ministry; the letter of introduction will be acknowledged as received during the open session next Sunday,” Abbas Goudarzi said.
"Following the acknowledgment of receipt, the specialized commission will have one week to review the programs of the proposed minister, and its report will be read during the vote of confidence session. Should the specialized commission submit its report ahead of schedule, naturally, the qualification review and vote of confidence session will be held sooner," he added.
Goudarzi also stated, "Based on the Constitution and considering the end of the three-month period, starting tomorrow (Monday), the signature of the acting minister of economy will lack legal validity, unless with the permission of the Leader.”
Born in 1982, Madanizadeh, is an economist and Associate Professor of Economics at Sharif University of Technology. He currently heads the Faculty of Management and Economics at the prestigious university.
The winner of the global bronze medal in mathematics, he is among the young economists and experts in theoretical and academic fields who began his activities as a professor at Sharif University of Technology in 2013. Madanizadeh graduated with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, then continued his academic path by receiving a Master's in Computational Mathematics from Stanford University in the United States. He ultimately obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago in 2013 and subsequently returned to Iran.
He is recognized as one of the country's scientific elites as in the year 2000, he won the bronze medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad, and in 2002, he achieved third place in the International Mathematics Competition for University Students.
Madanizadeh’s introduction to Parliament comes as the country is grappling with numerous structural economic problems, including an imbalance in the banking system; weak performance of insurance institutions and the capital market; economic sanctions; budget deficits; currency fluctuations; inflation; and low economic growth.
The announcement follows the impeachment of former Economy minister Abdolnasser Hemmati on March 2, 2024, which passed with 182 votes in favor of removing and 89 against the motion. Rahmatollah Akrami was subsequently appointed as acting minister.
Iranian lawmakers voted to remove Hemmati from office over persistent economic woes and the sharp devaluation of the national currency. On the free market at the time, rial was trading at 820,000 against the US dollar, compared with approximately 580,000 in mid-2024.