Ayatollah Ali khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989) was born on 24 September 1902 in Khomein, Markazi Province. After completing advanced religious studies in Arak and Qom, he became a prominent Shia jurist. His political involvement increased during opposition to the Shah’s White Revolution. He was arrested on 5 June 1963, and after renewed criticism of state policies, he was exiled on 4 November 1964. His exile included periods in Turkey, Iraq (1965–1978), and France (1978). Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February 1979 following the collapse of the Pahlavi monarchy. The Islamic Republic was established through a referendum on 30–31 March 1979, and the new constitution of December 1979 created the role of Supreme Leader, which he assumed. His tenure oversaw institutional consolidation, the 1979–1981 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis, and the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). He remained in office until his death on 3 June 1989. Khomeini had several children. Among them, upon Khomeini’s death, the Assembly of Experts appointed Ali Khamenei as the second Supreme Leader on 4 June 1989, marking the beginning of a new phase in the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure.