chancellor of Azad University, one of the world’s largest universities.
Rafsanjani had fought to keep his own man, Abdollah Jasbi, as chancellor, a post Jasbi has held since the university was started just after the revolution.
With Jasbi’s ouster, Rafsan-jani has lost yet another power base in the country. His one remaining source of power is the chairmanship of the Expediency Council. And his five-year term as a member and chairman of that body is up this week with rumors swirling that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi may not re-appoint him, which would leave Rafsanjani as just a has-been.
Azad University was one of Rafsanjani’s pet ideas, and he pursued it zealously after the revolution. In recent months, however, Ahmadi-nejad had managed to get a few of his people appointed to the Azad Board of Trustees, which Rafsanjani chairs.
In January, the board voted 5-4 to oust Jasbi and name Kamran Daneshju to replace him. But, despite being in the minority, Rafsanjani refused to give in. He refused to sign Daneshju’s appointment papers, leaving Daneshju hanging.
But Ahmadi-nejad used his position as chairman of the Supreme Council on the Cultural Revolution to change the rules so that the minister of science, who oversees higher education, could sign the appointment papers.
On Sunday, Science Minister Kamran Daneshju—brother of Farhad Daneshju—signed the papers naming Farhad Daneshju as chancellor of Azad University for a term of four years.