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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Grand Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini
Portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini By Mohammad Sayyad.jpg
1st Supreme Leader of Iran
In office
3 December 1979 – 3 June 1989
President Abolhassan Banisadr
Mohammad-Ali Rajai
Ali Khamenei
Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan
Mohammad-Ali Rajai
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
Mahdavi Kani
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Preceded by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
As Shah of Iran
Succeeded by Ali Khamenei
Personal details
Born (1902-09-24)24 September 1902
Khomeyn, Persian Empire
Died 3 June 1989(1989-06-03) (aged 86)
Tehran, Iran
Nationality Iranian
Political party Islamic Republican Party
Spouse(s) Khadijeh Saqafi (m. 1929–89)
Children Mostafa
Zahra
Sadiqeh
Farideh
Ahmad
Religion Shia Islam (Twelver)
Signature
Website www.imam-khomeini.ir
Styles of
Ruhollah Khomeini
Emblem of Iran.svg
Reference style Eminent marji' al-taqlid, Ayatullah al-Uzma Imam Khumayni
Spoken style Imam Khomeini
Religious style Ayatullah al-Uzma Ruhollah Khomeini

Sayyid Ruhollah Mūsavi Khomeini (Persian: سید روح‌الله موسوی خمینی‎‎, [ruːhoɫˈɫɑːhe χomeiˈniː], 24 September 1902 – 3 June 1989), known in the Western world as Ayatollah Khomeini, was an Iranian Shia Muslim religious leader, philosopher, revolutionary, and politician. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution of the Islamic Republic as the highest-ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death. He was succeeded by Ali Khamenei on 4 June 1989.

Khomeini was a marja ("source of emulation") in Twelver Shia Islam, a Mujtahid or faqih (an expert in Islamic law) and author of more than 40 books, but he is primarily known for his political activities. He spent more than 15 years in exile for his opposition to the last Shah. In his writings and preachings he expanded the theory of velayat-e faqih, the "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (clerical authority)", to include theocratic political rule by Islamic jurists. This principle (though not known to the wider public before the revolution), was appended to the new Iranian constitution after being put to a referendum. According to New York Times, Khomeini called democracy the equivalent of prostitution. Whether Khomeini's ideas are compatible with democracy and whether he intended the Islamic Republic to be democratic is disputed.


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