the minister of post, telegraph, and telephone that was later renamed to minister of communications and information technology. He became the first head of management and planning organization in 2000 after resigned as Minister of Communication. Khatami was reelected in 2001 and his former vice president Hassan Habibi resigned immediately after the election. After Habibi's resignation, he appointed Aref as his First Vice President. He served in this post until September 2005 and was succeeded by Parviz Dawoodi after the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then, he served as a professor in the department of electrical engineering at Sharif University of Technology, offering courses on cryptography, coding theory, estimation theory and Information Theory. He is currently one of the members of the Expediency Discernment Council that is an advisory unit for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He was nominated for parliamentary election of 2008 as the reformist front's first in the list but he withdrew to protest the rejection of some candidates by the Guardian Council. In June 2013, Aref announced that he together with other reformist figures was planning to launch a national party, namely Hope of Iran. On the other hand, Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani stated that Aref will be one of his cabinet members. However, Aref rejected Rouhani's invite for a political post (Vice Presidency or Ministry of Science) to focus on his party's establishment. He also announced his interest in becoming one of Rouhani's advisers in politics and human rights. 2013 presidential election Aref was one of the potential candidates for the presidential elections held in June 2013. He said that he would not stand if Khatami run but after Khatami declined, Aref announced that he would run in the election. He registered on 11 May 2013 and was confirmed by the Guardian Council. His major goals were lowering the unemployment rate and resolving high inflation. He pledged an extra 1 million jobs annually, which would include 200 thousand jobs from tourism development. He also added that if elected, his administration would bolster Iran's international relations and would find a "political solution" to closing the "[nuclear] dossier once and for all". Aref said he would remain "committed to the law" throughout the election process, promising to implement an economic plan to propel the country out of inflation and to achieve development and progress. Aref censured the foreign policy of the Ahmadinejad's administration, vowing to improve Iran's diplomatic