DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Medicine has selected a new executive director to replace the man who said he’d been forced out of the job. A news release on the board’s website says Kent Nebel been given the position. He’s been the board’s legal director for nearly 20 years and the interim executive director since July.

Nebel had taken over the duties of Mark Bowden, who announced his resignation July 30. Bowden had been placed on administrative leave for reasons that state officials would not publicly detail. He complained that he’d been forced out of the post and that his work had been hindered by “substantial deficiencies in service and a lack of adequate support” from the Department of Public Health and Department of Administrative Services.

The board licenses physicians and also has the authority to fine or suspend them for poor care or violating ethics rules.