The office was established by theConstitution of Iran in 1979, pursuant to AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini's concept of theGuardianship of the Islamic Jurist,[16] and is a lifetime appointment.[17] Originally the constitution required the supreme leader to beMarja'-e taqlid, the highest-ranking cleric in the religious laws ofUsuliTwelverShia Islam. In 1989, however, the constitution wasamended and simply asked for Islamic "scholarship" to allow the supreme leader to be a lower-ranking cleric.[18][19] As the Guardian Jurist (Vali-ye faqih), the supreme leader guides the country, protecting it from heresy and imperialist predations, and ensuring the laws of Islam are followed. The style "Supreme Leader" (Persian:رهبر معظم,romanized: rahbar-e mo'azzam) is commonly used as a sign of respect although the Constitution designates them simply as "Leader" (رهبر,rahbar). According to the constitution (Article 111), theAssembly of Experts is tasked with electing (following Ayatollah Khomeini), supervising, and dismissing the supreme leader. In practice, the Assembly has never been known to challenge or otherwise publicly oversee any of the supreme leader's decisions[20] (all of its meetings and notes are strictly confidential).[21] Members of the Assembly are elected by people in elections, and are approved by bodies (theGuardian Council) whose members are appointed by the supreme leader or appointed by an individual (Chief Justice of Iran) appointed by the supreme leader.
Inits history, the Islamic Republic of Iran has had only two supreme leaders: Khomeini, who held the position from 1979 untilhis death in 1989 and Ali Khamenei, who has held the position for more than 35 years since Khomeini's death.
The supreme leader of Iran is elected by theAssembly of Experts (Persian:مجلس خبرگان رهبری,romanized: majles-e xobregân-e rahbari), which is also the only government body in charge of choosing and dismissing supreme leaders of Iran.[22]
According to the constitution, all supreme leaders (following Ayatollah Khomeini) are to be elected by theAssembly of Experts who are elected by Iranian voters to eight-year terms. However, all candidates for membership at the Assembly of Experts (along with candidates for president and for the Majlis (parliament)) must have their candidacy approved by theGuardian Council (in 2016, 166 candidates were approved by the Guardians out of 801 who applied to run for the office),[29] whose members in turn, are half appointed unilaterally by the supreme leader and half subject to confirmation by the Majlis after being appointed by the head of the Iranian judiciary (Chief Justice of Iran), who is himself appointed by the supreme leader of Iran.[30] The Assembly has never questioned the supreme leader.[20] There have been cases where the Guardian Council repealed its ban on particular people after being directed to do so by Khamenei.[31]
The supreme leader is legally considered "inviolable", with Iranians being routinely punished for questioning or insulting him.[32][33][34][35]
In March 1979, shortly afterRuhollah Khomeini's return from exile and the overthrow of Iran's monarchy,a national referendum was held throughout Iran with the question "Islamic Republic, yes or no?".[36] Although some groups objected to the wording and choice and boycotted the referendum, 98% of those voting voted "yes".[36] Following this landslide victory, the constitution of Iran of 1906 was declared invalid and a new constitution for an Islamic state was created and ratifiedby referendum during the first week of December in 1979. According toFrancis Fukuyama, the 1979 constitution is a "hybrid" of "theocratic and democratic elements" with much of it based on the ideas Khomeini presented in his published bookIslamic Government (Hukumat-e Islami).[37] In the work, Khomeini argued that government must be run in accordance with traditional Islamicsharia, and for this to happen a leading Islamic jurist (faqih) must provide political "guardianship" (wilayat orvelayat) over the people. The leading jurist were known asMarja'.
The Constitution stresses the importance of the clergy in government, with Article 4 stating that
all civil, criminal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and all other statutes and regulations (must) be keeping with Islamic measures;…the Islamic legal scholars of the watch council (Shura yi Nigahban) will keep watch over this.[38]
and the importance of the supreme leader. Article 5 states
during the absence of the removedTwelfth Imam (may God hasten his reappearance) government and leadership of the community in the Islamic Republic of Iran belong to the rightful God fearing legal scholar (Faqih) who is recognized and acknowledged as the Islamic leader by the majority of the population.
Article 107 in the constitution mentions Khomeini by name and praises him as the most learned and talented leader for emulation (marja-i taqlid). The responsibilities of the supreme leader are vaguely stated in the constitution, thus any 'violation' by the supreme leader would be dismissed almost immediately. As the rest of the clergy governed affairs on a daily basis, the supreme leader is capable of mandating a new decision as per the concept of Vilayat-e Faqih.[39]
Shortly before Khomeini's death a change was made in the constitution of Iran allowing a lower ranking Shia cleric to become the supreme leader. Khomeini had a falling out with his would-be successorHussein-Ali Montazeri who disapproved of human rights abuses by the Islamic Republic[41] such as themass execution of political prisoners in late summer and early autumn 1988. Montazeri was demoted as a marja and Khomeini chose a new successor, a relatively low-ranking member of the clergy,Ali Khamene'i. However Article 109 stipulated that the leader be "a source of imitation" (Marja-e taqlid). Khomeini wrote a letter to the president of the Assembly for Revising the Constitution, which was in session at the time, making the necessary arrangements to designate Khamene'i as his successor, and Article 109 was revised accordingly.[42] "Khomeini is supposed to have written a letter to the Chairman of the assembly of Leadership Experts on 29.4.89 in which he emphasised that he had always been of the opinion that the marja'iyat was not a requirement for the office of leader."[42]
Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Velayat-e faqih)
AyatollahAli Khamenei met withHajj authorities, 2018Khamenei, the supreme leader ofIran, and his claim of “speaking with God”.
The constitution of Iran combines concepts of bothdemocracy andtheocracy, theocracy in the form of Khomeini's concept ofvilayat-e faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), as expressed in theIslamic Republic. According to Ayatollah Khomeini, the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist was notrestricted to orphans or mental incompetents, but applied to everyone in absence of thetwelfth Imam. Jurists were the only rightful political/governmental leaders because "God had commanded Islamic government" and "no one knew religion better than theulama" (Islamic clergy).[43] They alone would preserve "Islamic order" and keep everyone from deviating from "the just path of Islam".[44] Prior to therevolution, observant Shia Muslims selected their own leading faqih to emulate (known as aMarja'-i taqlid) according to their own decision making. The "congregation rather than the hierarchy decided how prominent the ayatollah was" thus allowing the public to possibly limit the influence of the Faqih.[43]
After the revolution Shia Muslims (or at least Iranian Shia) were commanded to show allegiance to the currentvali-e faghih, Guardian Jurist or Supreme Leader. In this new system, the jurist oversaw all governmental affairs. The complete control exercised by the Faqih was not to be limited to theIranian Revolution because the revolution and its Leader had international aspirations. As the constitution of the Islamic Republic states, it
intends to establish an ideal and model society on the basis of Islamic norms. ... the Constitution provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the Revolution at home and abroad. In particular, in the development of international relations, the Constitution will strive with other Islamic and popular movements to prepare the way for the formation of a single world community (in accordance with the Koranic verse 'This your community is a single community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me' [21:92]), and to assure the continuation of the struggle for the liberation of all deprived and oppressed peoples in the world.[38]
According to author Seyyed Vali Nasr, Khomeini appealed to the masses, during the pre-1979 period, by referring to them as the oppressed and with charisma and political ability was tremendously successful. He became a very popular role model forShiites and hoped for the Iranian Revolution to be the first step to a much larger Islamic revolution, transcending Shia Islam, in the same way thatVladimir Lenin andLeon Trotsky had wantedtheir revolution to be a world revolution, not just aRussian one.[45]
Functions, powers, and duties of the supreme leader
Resolving differences between the three wings of the armed forces and regulation of their relations.
Resolving the problems, which cannot be solved by conventional methods, through the Nation's Expediency Discernment Council.
Signing the decree formalizing theelections in Iran for the President of the Republic by the people.
Dismissal of the President of the Republic, with due regard for the interests of the country, after theSupreme Court holds himguilty of the violation of his constitutional duties, or after an impeachment vote of theIslamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) testifying to his incompetence on the basis of Article 89 of the Constitution.
Pardoning or reducing the sentences of convicts, within the framework of Islamic criteria, on a recommendation (to that effect) from the head of theJudiciary. The supreme leader may delegate part of his duties and powers to another person.
During the presidency ofHassan Rouhani and amid longstanding rumors of Khamenei's declining health, it was recommended to Khamenei to reestablish the office of deputy supreme leader to better facilitate the transition to new leadership.[59]
^"Article 109 [Leadership Qualifications] (1) Following are the essential qualifications and conditions for the Leader: a. Scholarship, as required for performing the functions of the religious leader in different fields.
^abSchirazi, Asghar,The Constitution of Iran: politics and the state in the Islamic Republic / by Asghar Schirazi, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 1997 p.73-75
^abNasr, Seyyed Vali Reza,The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, W. W. Norton & Company, Apr 17, 2007, p.?
^Khomeini,Islam and Revolution, Writings and Declarations Of Imam Khomeini p.54
^Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza,The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, W. W. Norton & Company, Apr 17, 2007, p.137
^Aslan, Reza (22 June 2009)."Iran's Supreme Revolutionary".The Daily Beast.Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved10 January 2018 – via www.thedailybeast.com.
1 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the Europe–Asia border.2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the Africa–Asia border.
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