(ifp) -- In a decree released on Monday, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, the former chief of the Iranian Judiciary, as the new head of the Expediency Council.

After the demise of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani was appointed the interim chief of the Council back in February.

The Expediency Council is an administrative assembly appointed by the 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 Iranian Parliament and Guardians Council. Members of the council are chosen by the Leader once every five years.

The presidential candidates Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, and Seyyed Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim were among the new members of the Council appointed by Iran’s Leader.

Former conservative MP Ahmad Tavakoli and President Hassan Rouhani’s reformist Vice-President for Legal Affairs Majid Ansari were also added to the Council.

The terms of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and senior moderate cleric Ali-Akbar Nateq Noori were also extended by Ayatollah Khamenei.