Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh introduced as Iranian CHTHO director

TEHRAN,Dec.9(MNA) – Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh was introduced as new director of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) during a ceremony held in Tehran on Saturday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the ceremony, in which he expressed his appreciation for the efforts and services of Malekzadeh’s predecessor, Hassan Mousavi, during his term in office. On June 18, 2011, Malekzadeh was appointed as deputy foreign minister for administrative and financial affairs, a move which provoked a storm of criticism from a number of lawmakers. Thirty-three MPs even signed a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi for the appointment. Part of the impeachment motion read, “Although the minister has the authority to appoint his deputy, he does not have the right to appoint a deputy, most of whose former colleagues have been arrested and himself is on the verge of being arrested on a number of financial charges and some other charges.” However, the MPs decided to drop the motion to impeach Salehi after Malekzadeh resigned from the post on June 21, 2011, and Salehi accepted his resignation. Malekzadeh dismissed all the allegations at the time.