The Recruitment of Elitesto the Cabinets of Iran: a Biographical Analysis (1979–1989)

Abstract

The article highlights the main patterns of recruiting ministers in the Iranian governments at 1979–1989. The work is based on the theoretical foundation of the study of the elites. Structural biographical analysis is the research method in the article. The paper analyzes the biographies of 183 ministers at the first 7 governments of Iran using aggregated form based on secondary data published by other researchers. The results of the work show that the first 3 years of the existence of the executive branch were the most conflicting: 5 governments existed consequently. 55–65% of all ministers had technical education. At the same time, the share of members of governments with humanitarian specialization decreased; the military and doctors had been replacing them. According to the place of education, the only balanced government was the Bazargan government, later the share of ministers with Iranian education increased, and with Western education decreased. The governments of Bazargan and the Council of the Islamic Revolution were balanced, where bureaucrats, scholars and professionals were relatively evenly represented. The main profession becomes bureaucratic. During this period, new elite groups emerged in governments: Shiite clergy and veterans of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The share of clergy from remains stable and fluctuates in the range of 9–14%. At the same time, the yield of veterans of the IRGC increases with each new government, reaching 21% in the second government of Mousavi. 60–70% of ministers came from regional capitals, and Tehran and Isfahan were the key provinces to recruit ministers.