Ayatollah Khomeini
Iranian Shia cleric and revolutionary leader (1902–1989) who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Shah and established an Islamic theocratic republic. His doctrine of velayat-e faqih — governance by the supreme jurist — created a unique political system that has defined Iran ever since.
Ayatollah Khomeini's significance lies in the consequences of the movement and rule associated with Supreme Leader of Iran: ideology, repression, victims, mass violence, and the collapse of democratic or pluralist safeguards. The page should be read as a historical warning, not as validation of office prestige or state authority.
Details
- birth year
- 1902
- death year
- 1989
- editorial frame
- authoritarian_warning
- monetization allowed
- false
- office
- Supreme Leader of Iran
- historical status
- deceased_historical
This profile uses curated historical sections and source-backed metadata. Auto-generated leader framing, quick-fact synthesis, and monetized modules are disabled for sensitive historical figures.
Overview
Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (1902–1989) was the Shia Islamic scholar and revolutionary leader who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and established the Islamic Republic of Iran, serving as its Supreme Leader until his death. His doctrine of velayat-e faqih — the "guardianship of the Islamic jurist" — was a radical innovation in Shia political theology: the argument that in the absence of the Hidden Imam, a qualified Islamic jurist should exercise supreme political authority. This doctrine became the constitutional foundation of the Iranian state and was embedded in the Islamic Republic's constitution.