Biography of Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Oil Minister

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was born in the western city of Kermanshah in 1953. He spent his early school years in his hometown before moving to Tehran where he received his high school diploma. He received his M.S. in civil engineering from Tehran university in 1977. Following the victory of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Zanganeh became a faculty member of the 'Khajeh Nasireddin' university. He wa appointed deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance in Martyr Rajaie's government Immediately after the formation of the Construction Jihad Ministry in 1983, he headed the ministry. Namdar Zanganeh was appointed as minister of energy in the government of Hussein Musavi in 1988. He also served as energy minister in president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani' cabinet. He was appointed a member of the Expediency Council by the Leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in 1996. He is currently teaching at several universities and academic centers. Zanganeh is married and has three children. He wa endorsed as oil minister with 213 parliamentary votes of a total of 266.