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Ministers Getting Older, Young Blood Needed

Although many developed countries have older populations, oddly their ministers are younger than their peers in less developed countries which have a younger population
The sitting cabinet has 18 men and the average age of ministers is about 61.
The sitting cabinet has 18 men and the average age of ministers is about 61.

Iranian ministers are getting older. In the year 1989 (the first year of the fifth government from 1989-1993), minister of industries, mines and trade Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh was only 44. Working in the same position now, he is 71 years.

Although, currently he is the oldest minister, the youngest ministers in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet, Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri (the newly-appointed minister of culture and Islamic guidance) and Ali Tayyebnia (minister of economic affairs and finance), are 16 and 15 years younger than him respectively.

The sitting cabinet has 18 men and the average age of ministers is about 61; half the ministers are over 60, and the rest over 55 years, the Persian language newspaper ‘Sharq’ reported.

The average age of ministers in the first four governments after the 1979 Islamic Revolution was 40; however from the fifth to the 10th governments the figure increased 1.5-fold, and reached 60-61.

Many experts believe that although younger ministers are less experienced, they can infuse the administration with fresh ideas and energy. While the wisdom of older ministers is important, the average age of the cabinet can significantly affect government performance.

Currently, the median age of the country is 29.7 indicating that the ministers’ average age (60) is twice the median age.

At present, only a few countries have cabinets with ministers older than 60. The average age of presidents and prime-ministers across the world is 60 and the average age of ministers is lower.

  In Developed Countries

Although many developed countries have older populations, oddly their ministers are younger than their peers in less developed countries which have a younger population.  

As an example, between the years 1950-2010, median age of the population in Germany, the US, and the UK increased from 33 to 40; however the average age of their chief executives decreased from about 70 to 50 years.

Currently, the average age of cabinet members in Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, France, UK and Australia is between 50 and 55. The figure is between 61 and 64 in China, Japan, and India.

  No Role Models

There is no woman minister in the Iranian cabinet although there are three women vice-presidents in Rouhani’s government: Masoumeh Ebtekar, vice president and head of Department of Environment (DoE),  Zahra Ahmadipour, the newly-appointed vice president and head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) and Shahindokht Molaverdi, vice president of Women and Family Affairs. Elham Aminzadeh is the current advisor to the president in citizenship rights.

However, women’s share of ministerial positions is still zero.

Aside from the fact that half of the population is under-represented, the lack of women in ministerial posts will mean the lack of role models in the higher echelons of power. This will discourage women from trying to reach high positions in national politics.

In March 2016, the number of female ministers in other Muslim countries was reported as follows: United Arab Emirates (7), Egypt (6), Nigeria (6), Indonesia (5), Algeria (3), Malaysia (3), Tunisia (3), Bangladesh (3), Iraq (2), Pakistan (2), Afghanistan (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2), Qatar (2), Turkey (1), Kuwait (1), Bahrain (1) and Morocco (1).

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