Ali Kordan Impeachment

On 4 November 2008, the Iranian parliament voted to impeach Interior Minister Ali Kordan after just 90 days in office. Kordan, appointed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had claimed to hold an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Oxford. When challenged, he produced a forged diploma. Oxford University confirmed that no such degree had ever been awarded. Kordan subsequently admitted in a letter to Ahmadinejad that he had been 'deceived by a person who claimed to represent Oxford University in Tehran.' The impeachment was a rare instance of the parliament successfully removing a sitting minister and was widely seen as a blow to Ahmadinejad's credibility.