Iran's parliament on Thursday approved the nomination for the new health minister, the country's first female minister.

"Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerd who has been nominated as minister of health was approved by the parliament," Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani announced after four consecutive days of examining 21 ministerial nominees proposed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Two other female nominees, Susan Keshavarz and Fatemeh Ajorlou were rejected separately as minister of education and minister of welfare.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2009)