The administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has undergone significant changes during his second tenure in office, which began in August 2017, particularly in recent months. The developments have laid bare the need for a new generation of qualified officials to helm ministries and other high-level state-run entities that will do more than preserve the status quo.

In early August, Rouhani’s Labor Minister Ali Rabiei, a former intelligence officer who had also served as an adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami, was impeached by members of parliament after serving for five years. It was the second ousting of a major state figure after former Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif, who had led many of Iran’s major financial institutions in the decades before, was fired two weeks earlier. He was seen as responsible for a disastrous attempt in April to fix the rate of the rial to rescue the national currency, in free-fall due to returning US sanctions. Even as his policies entailed many repercussions, Seif was made presidential adviser in monetary and banking affairs amid much criticism.

Then in late August, Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian, also a longtime insider, became the second minister to be impeached by the parliament in a month. He had only served for one year, remaining largely invisible — in contrast to his predecessor — as the Central Bank chief seemed to be the top financial decision-maker. The two ministries, key to an ailing economy that suffers from high unemployment and macroeconomic instability, were run by caretakers for weeks, even as it was becoming clearer by the day that returning sanctions have only shown many of the cracks in local management rather than being the root of the main challenges facing the country.

In late October, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi published his resignation letter — his fourth attempt — to signal that he is out over different viewpoints on excessive government interference that hinders market competitiveness and undermines the rule of law. Amid signals by lawmakers that Minister of Industries, Mines and Business Mohammad Shariatmadari is also on track to be impeached, the president accepted his resignation. Last week, Rouhani officially introduced his picks to lead the four leaderless ministries. The candidates, who all managed to get a vote of confidence from lawmakers on Oct. 27, reveal many things about positions of power in Iran and what is still lacking.