TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday named former intelligence minister Gholamhussein Mohseni-Ejei as head of the judiciary, replacing Ebrahim Raisi after he was elected president earlier this month.
Ayatollah Khamenei urged Mohseni-Ejei, a senior cleric with a long history in the judiciary, to fight corruption “with determination”.
Born in 1956, Mohseni-Ejei holds the rank of Hodjatalislam, one rung below Ayatollah in the Shia clerical hierarchy.
He has been both Iran’s top prosecutor, and deputy head of the judiciary since 2014.
“With your legal powers and your valuable expertise, as well as the deep knowledge and shining precedents in judicial matters, I appoint you as head of the judiciary authority,” Ayatollah Khamenei told Mohseni-Ejei in a message.
The Leader urged him to “deliver justice... provide legitimate freedoms, ensure the proper implementation of laws, prevent crime and fight corruption with determination.”
The Leader’s decree also urged Mohseni-Ejei to continue the transformational approach at the Judiciary with special care, pave the way for the usage of new technologies and guarantee people’s easy and free access to judicial services.
The Leader called on the new Judiciary chief to put efficient and virtuous personnel in charge of responsibilities at the branch under his watch and train competent managers.
The services of virtuous judges should be honored and their dignity must be preserved while offenders, who are few in number, should be dealt with decisively, Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that being present among people has many blessings.
“I ask God Almighty for the success of your Excellency and your colleagues, and I hope that your services will please God and the people,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also praised Raisi’s record in the position which he assumed in 2019.
Raisi won outright on June 18 in the first round of a presidential election with around 62 percent of the vote. He will take office in August.
Mohseni-Ejei came to public prominence in 1998, when he was judge in the corruption trial of reformist former Tehran mayor Gholamhussein Karbastchi.
He later became intelligence minister in the first 2005-2009 government of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but was sacked over disagreements between them.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news site, Mohseni-Ejei was born in the central province of Esfahan, where he studied religion, before completing his studies in the holy city of Qom. He also holds a masters degree in international law.
He will be the seventh head of the judiciary since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with a renewable five-year mandate.