The Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Husseini Khamenei

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On July 15, 1939, the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Husseini Khamenei, was born in the holy city of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran in a religious family. He learned Islamic sciences under his virtuous father, and in 1958 left for the holy city of Qom where he stayed for seven years learning theology, jurisprudence and Islamic philosophy under prominent lecturers such as Grand Ayatollah Seyeed Hussain Boroujerdi, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabatabai, and the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA).
For a brief period he was in holy Najaf in Iraq, before returning to his hometown Mashhad, where he became a leading preacher, opposed to the oppressive Pahlavi regime. As a result he was detained and exiled on several occasions for disclosing the corruption of the British-installed and US-supported regime. On the threshold of the victory of the Iranian people's movement, he was instated by Imam Khomeini as a member of the Islamic Revolution Council.
Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was assigned important posts such as the Imam’s representative at the High Defence Council. In 1981, he was elected as president of the Islamic Republic and four years later was re-elected for the second term. In 1981, while preaching in a mosque, he was the target of a terrorist bomb blast, and sustained serious injuries. In June 1989, after the passing away of Imam Khomeini, he was elected as the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution by the Assembly of Experts in view of his piety, prudence, popularity, political acumen, knowledge, managerial skills, and familiarity with current issues in Iran, the region, and the international arena. Over the past 23 years, Ayatollah Khamenei has ably discharged his duties to the benefit of Iran, and the Islamic world.