Supreme Leader of Iran - Wikipedia
The
Supreme Leader of Iran (
Persian: رهبر معظم ایران,
translit. rahbar-e mo'azzam-e irān), also called the
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution[2] (رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی,
rahbar-e mo'azzam-e enqelāb-e eslāmi), officially in Iran, called the
Supreme Leadership Authority (مقام معظم رهبری,
maqām mo'azzam rahbari), is the
head of state and
highest ranking political and religious authority in the
Islamic Republic of Iran. The
armed forces,
judicial system,
state television, and other key governmental organizations are under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran. The current longtime Supreme Leader of Iran,
Ali Khamenei, has been issuing decrees and making the final decisions on economy, environment, foreign policy, education, national planning, and everything else in Iran.
[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Khamenei also makes the final decisions on the amount of transparency in
elections in Iran,
[12] and has fired and reinstated Presidential cabinet appointments.
[13] The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly chooses the ministers of Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as certain other ministries, such as the Science Ministry.
[14] Iran’s regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran’s ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Corps, which directly reports to the Supreme Leader.
[11]
This post was established by the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran in accordance with the concept of the
Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist.
[15] According to the Constitution, the powers of government in the Islamic Republic of Iran are vested in the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive powers, functioning under the supervision of the
Absolute Guardianship and the Leadership of the Ummah (
Persian: ولایت مطلقه امر و امامت امت) that refers to the Supreme Leader.
[16] The title
"Supreme" Leader (
Persian: رهبر معظم,
translit. rahbar-e mo'azzam) is often used as a sign of respect; however, this is not found in the
Constitution, which simply refers to the "
Leader" (رهبر,
rahbar).
The Supreme Leader is more powerful than the
President of Iran and appoints the heads of many powerful posts in the military, the civil government, and the judiciary.
[17] Originally Iran's constitution stated that the Supreme Leader must be a
Marja'-e taqlid, the highest ranking cleric and authority on religious laws in
Usuli Twelver Shia Islam. However, in 1989, the constitution was
amended to require simply Islamic "scholarship" of the leader, i.e., the leader could be a lower ranking cleric.
[18][19]
In its history, the Islamic Republic has had two Supreme Leaders:
Ruhollah Khomeini, who held the position from 1979 until his death in 1989, and Ali Khamenei, who has held the position since Khomeini's death.
In theory, the Supreme Leader is appointed and supervised by the
Assembly of Experts. However, all candidates to the Assembly of Experts, the President and the Majlis (Parliament), are selected by the
Guardian Council, whose members are selected by the Supreme Leader of Iran.
[20] Also, all directly-elected members after the vetting process by the Guardian Council still have to be approved by the Supreme Leader.
[21][22] As such, the Assembly has never questioned the Supreme Leader.
[23] There have been instances when the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has publicly criticized members of the Assembly of Experts, resulting in their arrest and dismissal. For example, Khamenei publicly called
Ahmad Azari Qomi a traitor, resulting in Ahmad Azari Qomi's arrest and eventual dismissal from the Assembly of Experts. There have also been instances where the Guardian Council reversed its ban for particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei.
[24] The Supreme Leader is legally considered "inviolable", with Iranians regularly punished for insulting him.
[25][26][27]