Bijan Namdar Zangeneh (; born 21 September 1952) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

politician, who served as minister, at different cabinets after the Islamic Revolution, for 30 years. He lately served as Minister of Petroleum from 2013 to 2021 in the cabinet led by

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

. Zangeneh is under US sanctions.

Early life and education

Zangeneh was born to a Kurdish family in

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

in 1952. He spent his early school years in his hometown before moving to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, where he received his high school diploma. He received his MSc in civil engineering from the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

in 1977 and then became a Civil Engineering professor at K. N. Toosi University of Technology until his retirement in 2006.

Career and activities

Following the

1979 revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, Zangeneh was appointed deputy for the minister of culture and Islamic guidance in 1980. In 1983, he was made minister of construction jihad. He was appointed minister of energy in the government of

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian politician, artist, architect and opposition figure who served as the 45th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 Iranian p ...

in 1988. He also served as the energy minister in

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

's cabinet and made massive efforts for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country's water and electricity industry in the aftermath of the 1980–1988

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

and the damages caused to the industry in the Iraqi attacks. He was the minister of petroleum in

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

's cabinet. Zangeneh was replaced by Kazem Vaziri Hamane in the post on 29 August 2005 as appointed by President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

. He was appointed a member of the

Expediency Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( ''Majma'-e Tašxis-e Maslahat-e Nezâm'') is an administrative assembly of Iran appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution on 6 February 1988. It was ...

by the

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure as Supreme Leader, ...

, in 1996. He taught at several universities and academic centers; but he was basically a faculty member at K. N. Toosi University of Technology. In early August 2013, Zangeneh was nominated as the petroleum minister by President Rouhani and was confirmed on 15 August. On 21 August Zanganeh was named as the head of

Gas Exporting Countries Forum The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is an intergovernmental organization currently comprising 19 Member Countries of the world's leading natural gas producers: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia ...

(GECF) for 2013. Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh was appointed Zangeneh's deputy on 3 September.

International sanctions

Zangeneh was sanctioned by the US department of the Treasurey. The sanction was part of a wider effort by the US government to sanction industries and sectors of the Iranian economy that are used to provide financial support to terrorism.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zangeneh, Bijan Namdar 1952 births Living people University of Tehran alumni Vice ministers of Iran Government ministers of Iran Oil ministers of Iran Executives of Construction Party politicians Iranian Kurdish people Academic staff of K. N. Toosi University of Technology Ambassadors of Iran to Jordan Iranian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions