Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini was an Iranian Shia cleric and revolutionary leader who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran and served as its first supreme leader from 1979 to 1989.

Iranian Revolution: The 1979 revolution that overthrew Iran’s monarchy and established an Islamic republic. Khomeini led the movement that transformed the shah’s overthrow into a new political order.
Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist: A doctrine assigning qualified Islamic jurists authority to govern during the occultation of the Twelfth Imam. Khomeini’s interpretation justified rule by a senior cleric in the Islamic Republic.
Ali Shariati: An Iranian intellectual whose writings blended Shiism, revolutionary politics, and social critique. His ideas helped popularize revolutionary Islam among young Iranians before Khomeini’s return.
Iran–Iraq War: A war between Iran and Iraq fought from 1980 to 1988, causing extensive casualties and destruction. Khomeini led Iran through the conflict and rejected a ceasefire until 1988.
Secularism: The principle that government institutions should remain separate from religious authority. Khomeini’s system placed senior clerical authority inside the structure of the state.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi: The last shah of Iran, who ruled from 1941 until his overthrow in 1979. His government exiled Khomeini and became the target of the revolution Khomeini led.
Supreme Leader of Iran: Iran’s highest political and religious office, with authority over major state institutions and armed forces. Khomeini held the office from the Islamic Republic’s founding until his death.
Mehdi Bazargan: An Iranian engineer and politician who became the Islamic Republic’s first prime minister. Khomeini appointed Bazargan to lead the provisional government after the monarchy fell.
Iran hostage crisis: The seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran and detention of its staff from 1979 to 1981. Khomeini endorsed the hostage-takers’ action, intensifying the rupture with the United States.
Iranian nationalists: Political movements emphasizing Iran’s national identity, sovereignty, and historical heritage. Their visions of political legitimacy competed with Khomeini’s Islamic revolutionary framework.

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