.jpg "Former Iranian culture minister Nasser Minachi in an undated photo")
TEHRAN – Nasser Minachi, who served as the first Iranian culture minister after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, died on Saturday at the age of 82.
He was suffering from heart disease and died at his home in Tehran, a number of Persian news agencies announced on Sunday.
He was one of the main founders of Hosseiniyeh Ershad, a non-traditional religious institute in Tehran.
Minachi was appointed as the minister of dissemination and tourism, which functioned as a culture minister, in the interim government that was established by Mehdi Bazargan on February 4, 1979.
Shortly after, Minachi renamed the ministry the National Guidance Ministry. It was renamed the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance few years later.
The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati offered his condolences over the death of Minachi on Sunday.
SB/YAW
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