Minister

Iranian Minister faces impeachment vote over fake Oxford degree

Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan may be impeached by Parliament and lose his job after he acknowledged that the degree he claimed was from Oxford University was a fake.

“Kordan will face an impeachment vote on Nov. 4,” state- run Press TV news channel cited Hamid Reza Haji-Babaei, a member of Parliament's presiding board, as saying yesterday.

Kordan, who took office in August, said during confirmation hearings before Parliament that he had an honorary doctorate in law from the U.K. university. He conceded last month that the degree was bogus after Oxford officials contradicted his claim.

The minister has resisted calls to step down made by deputies who say he misled Parliament and questioned his fitness to lead the department that will supervise next year's presidential elections.

Kordan said he had dealt with an office that claimed to represent the university in Tehran and was unaware that the degree he received was forged. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will likely seek a second term in the June elections, has backed Kordan.

Ahmadinejad will attend the impeachment session to support his minister, the news channel said in a report on its Web site. Kordan will be given 3 hours to argue his case, it said.

An impeachment motion can be put on the agenda of the 290- member Parliament if it bears the signature of as few as 10 deputies, according to the Islamic Republic's constitution. As many as 20 lawmakers have petitioned for Kordan's impeachment, Press TV said last week.

(Published by Bloomberg - October 27, 2008)