Expediency Discernment Council


The Expediency Discernment Council of the System is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 6 February 1988. It was originally set up to resolve differences or conflicts between the Majlis and the Guardian Council, but "its true power lies more in its advisory role to the Supreme Leader." According to Hooman Majd, the Leader "delegated some of his own authority to the council — granting it supervisory powers over all branches of the government" following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election in 2005.
Members of the council are chosen by the Supreme Leader every five years.

History and role

By 1987, the legislative process as well as the country's long-term policy formation had come to a standstill due to the doctrinal conflict between radical factions of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Guardian Council, which officials described as coercive at the time. Consultations in February the following year led to Ayatollah Khomeini ordering the appointment of a 13-member council that was given legislative authority: it could pass temporary laws. Article 112 of Iran's Constitution states the EDC will be convened by the Supreme Leader to determine expedience cases where the Guardian Council finds an Islamic Consultative Assembly decision against the principles of religious law or the constitution, and where the Consultative Assembly is unable to satisfy the Guardian Council in view of the expedience of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Formally, the Expediency Discernment Council of the System is primarily a constitutional advisory body for the Supreme Leader, as described in article 112 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution. It is meant to "discern the interests of the Islamic Republic" by resolving internal regime conflicts. The Council consisted of thirteen members when originally convened, and included six clergy members, six public officials, as well as the Majles member whose legislation was overturned. The EDC Chairman is appointed every five years by the Supreme Leader. Even though the Supreme Leader is a member of the Council itself, he can deputize the Council. Nine years later, in 1997, Khamenei expanded its membership to thirty-four, twenty-five of whom were thence appointed for five-year terms. During February 2007, a new Council was formed, with twenty-seven members being directly chosen by the Supreme Leader this time.
As stated by article 111, if the position of Supreme Leader is undeclared for whatever reason, a council composed of President, head of the Judiciary, and one of the jurisconsults of the Guardian Council chosen by the EDC shall discharge his functions collectively and temporarily. If any of them is unable to discharge his duties, another person shall be appointed by the EDC in his place. The Council also resolves disputes that concern the Guardian Council and the Majles. Domestic and foreign policies of the regime are determined only after consultation with the Expediency Council, according to article 110 of the Constitution. The Expediency Council is only meant to act on behalf of the legislative branch, although in reality it intercedes as a mediator between all bureaucratic branches, including the executive. If ratification of the Consultative Assembly is not confirmed by the Guardian Council, the EDC can intervene to make a decision. The Expediency Discernment Council can advise the faghih on policy and strategy, and despite not being part of the legislative branch, it can remove parliamentary powers. As an example of this, in April 2000 it removed from parliamentary capacity the faculty to investigate institutions under the control of the Supreme Leader, such as the Pasdaran and the Council of the Guardians. In practice, its composition almost guarantees its rulings mirror the legal opinion the Guardian Council, and more importantly, the Supreme Leader's. Being dominated by conservative ulama, this has furthered the faction's grip over Iran.
During August 2001, the Council was convened by the Supreme Leader to resolve the dispute between the Judiciary and the Assembly. The latter was dominated by reformers, while the former was dominated by conservatives, so the Ali Khamenei wanted the EDC to settle this political confrontation. The confrontation referred to the parliament's rejection to approve conservative candidates' appointments to the Guardian Council. Conservatives did not want to lose control of the Guardian Council, dreading president Mohammad Khatami and reformist allies would push through political and social reforms. Members of the Council are generally ayatollahs and hojatoleslams. In 2005, the capacity of the Council to act as a government supervisory body was supplemented to its powers. The EDC's influence grew when cleric Hashemi Rafsanjani joined it.

Members

Current members (2017–2022)

Historic membership

;Sixth council
On 14 March 2012, a new council was appointed for a five-year period. Eight months before the end of the council, chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani dies and Ali Movahedi-Kermani became interim chairman until the end of the council period.
  1. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
  2. Ali Movahedi-Kermani
  3. Mohsen Rezaei
  4. Ahmad Jannati
  5. Ebrahim Amini
  6. Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri
  7. Hassan Sane'i
  8. Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
  9. Mohammad Reza Tavassoli
  10. Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi
  11. Mahmoud Mohammadi Araghi
  12. Majid Ansari
  13. Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghadam
  14. Gholam Reza Aghazadeh
  15. Ali Agha-Mohammadi
  16. Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, followed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  17. Mohammad Javad Irvani
  18. Mohammad Reza Bahonar
  19. Saeed Jalili
  20. Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel
  21. Davoud Danesh Jafari
  22. Parviz Davoudi
  23. Hossein Saffar Harandi
  24. Mohammad Reza Aref
  25. Mohammad Forouzandeh
  26. Lt. General Hassan Firouzabadi
  27. Hossein Mohammadi
  28. Hossein Mozaffar
  29. Mostafa Mir-Salim
  30. Mohammad Mir Mohammadi
  31. Morteza Nabavi
  32. Ali Akbar Velayati
  33. Lt. General Ahmad Vahidi
  34. Sadegh Vaez-Zadeh
Ex officio members:
  1. President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, followed by Hassan Rouhani
  2. Parliament Speaker: Ali Larijani
  3. Judiciary Chief: Sadeq Larijani
  4. Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces: Lt. General Hassan Firouzabadi, followed by Major General Mohammad Bagheri
  5. Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces: Saeed Jalili, followed by Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani
  1. The minister concerned depending on the subject under discussion
  2. The parliament commission head concerned depending on the subject under discussion
;Fifth council
The following is a list of its members of the years :
  1. Hashemi Rafsanjani, Akbar, Ayatollah *
  2. Mohsen Rezaee, Ph.D.*
  3. Jannati, Ahmad, Ayatollah *
  4. Vaez Tabasi, Abbas, Ayatollah *
  5. Amini Najafabadi, Ebrahim, Ayatollah *
  6. Haddad-Adel, Gholam Ali, Ph.D. *
  7. Emami Kashani, Mohammad, Ayatollah *
  8. Movahedi-Kermani, Ali, Ayatollah *
  9. Habibi, Hassan Ebrahim, Ph.D. *
  10. Mousavi, Mir Hossein Ms.C. *
  11. Velayati, Ali Akbar, M.D. *
  12. Dorri Najafabadi, Ghorbanali, Ayatollah *
  13. Mohammadi Reyshahri, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam *
  14. Sane'i, Hassan, Hojatoleslam *
  15. Rouhani, Hassan, Hojatoleslam, Ph.D. *
  16. Asgar Owladi, Habibollah *
  17. Larijani, Ali, Ph.D. *
  18. Bahonar, Mohammad Reza
  19. Tavassoli Mahallati, Mohammad Reza, Ayatollah *
  20. Mirsalim, Mostafa *
  21. Nabavi, Morteza *
  22. Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Hojatoleslam *
  23. Firouzabadi, Hassan, Major General *
  24. Aghazadeh, Gholam Reza *
  25. Namdar Zanganeh, Bijan *
  26. Ali Agha-Mohammadi
  27. Mohammad Forouzandeh
  28. Davoud Danesh-Jafari
;Fourth council
The following is a list of its members of the years 2002-2007.
  1. Hashemi Rafsanjani, Akbar, Ayatollah *
  2. Amini Najafabadi, Ibrahim, Ayatollah *
  3. Vaez Tabasi, Abbas, Hojatoleslam *
  4. Emami Kashani, Mohammad, Ayatollah *
  5. Mousavi, Mir Hussein *
  6. Velayati, Ali Akbar *
  7. Mohammadi Reyshahri, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam *
  8. Sane'i, Hassan, Hojatoleslam *
  9. Rouhani, Hassan, Hojatoleslam, Ph.D. *
  10. Asgar Owladi, Habibollah *
  11. Dorri Najafabadi, Qorbanali, Hojatoleslam *
  12. Larijani, Ali *
  13. Mirsalim, Mostafa *
  14. Tavassoli Mahallati, Mohammadreza, Ayatollah *
  15. Nabavi, Morteza *
  16. Firouzabadi, Hassan, Major General *
  17. Aqazadeh, Gholamreza *
  18. Namdar Zanganeh, Bijan *
  19. Rafsanjani, Mohammad Hashemi *
  20. Habibi, Hassan Ibrahim *
  21. Mohsen Rezaee *
  22. Ahmad Jannati
  23. Ali Movahedi-Kermani
  24. Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri
  25. Mohammad Reza Aref
  26. Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel
  27. Majid Ansari
  28. Mohammad Reza Bahonar
  29. Hossein Mozaffar
  30. Mohammad Javad Irvani
Ex officio members:
  1. President
  2. Speaker of Majles
  3. Chief of the Judiciary
  4. The minister concerned depending on the subject under discussion
  5. The representative of Majlis commission concerning the subject discussed
;Third council
The following is a list of its members of the year 1997-2002.
  1. Tabasi, Abbas, Hojatoleslam
  2. Emami Kashani, Mohammad, Ayatollah
  3. Mousavi, Mir Hussein
  4. Velayati, Ali Akbar
  5. Mohammadi Reyshahri, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam
  6. Sane'i, Hassan, Hojatoleslam
  7. Rouhani, Hassan, Hojatoleslam, Ph.D. *
  8. Mousavi Khoeiniha, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam
  9. Asgar Owladi, Habibollah
  10. Dorri Najafabadi, Qorbanali, Hojatoleslam
  11. Larijani, Ali
  12. Mirsalim, Mostafa
  13. Tavassoli Mahallati, Mohammadreza, Ayatollah
  14. Nouri, Abdullah, Hojatoleslam
  15. Nabavi, Morteza
  16. Firouzabadi, Hassan, Lt. General
  17. Aqazadeh, Gholamreza
  18. Namdar Zanganeh, Bijan
  19. Rafsanjani, Mohammad Hashemi
  20. Nourbakhsh, Mohsen
  21. Habibi, Hassan Ibrahim
  22. Mohsen Rezaee
Ex officio members:
  1. President: Khatami, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam
  2. Majlis Speaker: Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, Hojatoleslam followed by Karroubi, Mehdi, Hojatoleslam
  3. Judiciary Chief: Yazdi, Mohammad, Ayatollah followed by Hashemi Shahroudi, Mahmoud, Ayatollah
  4. The minister concerned depending on the subject under discussion
  1. Jannati, Ahmad, Ayatollah
  2. Ostadi, Reza, Ayatollah
  3. Rezvani, Gholamreza, Ayatollah
  4. Mo'men, Mohammad, Ayatollah
  5. Yazdi, Mohammad, Ayatollah
  6. Taheri Khoram-Abadi, Hasan, Ayatollah

    Chairmen


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