Rahbar sayyid ali khamenei biography

Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei (born 1939) followed Ayatollah Rohollah Khomeini as peerless spiritual and political leader assault the Islamic Republic of Persia. A favored Khomeini disciple, latchkey revolutionary strategist, and innovative chairman, Khamenei was elected supreme head of state by a Council of Islamic Experts on June 5, 1989.

Born in 1939, Sayyid Ali Khamenei was raised in a kinfolk of Islamic scholars in Web, a key city in nor'-east Iran.

At 18 he began advanced religious training at Najaf, Iraq. Some sources claim lapse Khamenei also undertook limited personnel training in Palestinian camps bay Lebanon and Libya. He laid hold of to Qom, Iran, in 1958, where he became a bear hug student of Ayatollah Khomeini. Keep in check 1963 Khamenei was involved increase twofold the massive student protests admit the shah's Western-oriented reforms.

Interpretation protests were brutally crushed, promote Khomeini was exiled. Khamenei continuing his studies in Meshed, one day achieving recognition as hojatolislam ("authority on Islam"), a rank sui generis incomparabl one step beneath ultimate altitude as an ayatollah.

Khamenei's Farsi, Semite, and Turkish language skills helped him as a literary connoisseur and translator of works tutor Islamic science, history, and Curry favour with civilization.

Khamenei's own books comprehend a study of "the parcel of Muslims in the publication of India."

Revolutionary Strategist

Khamenei's teachings thespian the wrath of the shah's agents. Frequent arrests and two years of imprisonment were followed by a year of civil exile in the Baluchi benefit region.

Undaunted, Khamenei returned figure up Meshed in time to expenditure orchestrate the nationwide street battles that resulted in the shah's overthrow and the triumphant come back of Khomeini in 1979.

Khamenei coral rapidly as the clerics at a snail`s pace consolidated their control over character revolution. An original Revolutionary Assembly member, Khamenei cofounded the Islamic Republican Party, was designated class prestigious Friday prayer leader provision the capital city of Tehran, and was elected to honesty Majlis (consultative assembly).

Khamenei's initially tasks also included the dogmatic indoctrination of the shah's warlike and the formation of interpretation autonomous and ideologically driven Rebellious Guards.

Khamenei staunchly defended the militant students who engaged 52 American diplomats for 444 days (1979-1981). After Iraq invaded Iran, Khamenei was Khomeini's chief personal representative on the reverberating Supreme Defense Council, from swing he helped discredit then chairwoman Bani-Sadr for being inclined yearning accept Iraqi cease-fire offers.

Khamenei viewed hard-line stands as tactlessly producing a "born again" aplomb in the Iranian people.

Khamenei was elected president on October 2, 1981, almost by default, in that scores of top revolutionary clerics had been killed by bombs planted by the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (Islamic-Marxist guerrillas).

Khamenei himself barely survived a tape-recorder bomb; his simple arm and voice remained damaged.

Presidential Years

As president, Khamenei's authority was significantly checked by Iran's risky constitutional structure. Khomeini's original over for prime minister, Ali-Akbar Velayati, was rejected by the Majlis in favor of the independent-minded Hussein Moussavi.

Like the Sculptor system, Iran's divided executive to an increasing extent suffered from bureaucratic confusion build up tensions. Velayati, for example, became foreign minister, but many confront his deputies were more in debt to Moussavi.

Khamenei's policy positions frank not necessarily follow his earliest hard-line reputation.

In social jigger Khamenei tended to advocate serious social and cultural purity. Even, he was quick to uphold skilled Iranians to return evade abroad, regardless of their fealty to revolutionary norms. In finance Khamenei's defense of the Bazaaris (merchants) against un-Islamic socialism clashed sharply with Moussavi's enactment noise radical land and business reforms.

When such disputes became angry, the theoretically supreme Ayatollah Khomeini tended merely to endorse specified "constructive debate" and to admire the loyal service of both Moussavi and Khamenei. Though Moussavi's measures were often vetoed be oblivious to Iran's conservative Council of Guardians, some observers viewed Khamenei's chairmanship as becoming ceremonial.

Khamenei's most weighty presidential contribution was in distant policy.

As Iran struggled run into break its pariah status, Khamenei launched in 1984 what became known as an "open door" policy. With Khomeini's blessing, Khamenei transformed the "neither east dim west" revolutionary slogan away steer clear of isolationism to mean neither easterly nor western domination. "Rational, slope, and healthy relations with fulfil countries" will help Iran fitting its "needs," he said, after a long time aiding in the non-violent general of Iran's revolutionary message.

Khamenei insisted that reciprocity and interchanged respect were Iran's criteria perform good relations, not ideological nucleus. Thus, even unconverted "Satans" lack the United States could be acceptable to friends.

Khamenei's "open minded policy" was frequently denounced by radical hardliners, particularly after the revelations exert a pull on covert dealings with the Leagued States.

Still, the pragmatic analyses of Khamenei and Majlis tubthumper Rafsanjani arguably were behind Iran's "surprise" acceptance of a peaceableness with Iraq in August break into 1988. The Salman Rushdie hunt was a subsequent setback support the pragmatists. When Khamenei optional that the condemned author could redeem himself, Khomeini publicly transposed Khamenei, saying that Rushdie could not repent from intentional blasphemy.

Supreme Leader

Despite past controversial stands, rendering 49-year-old Khamenei was swiftly elite as the new supreme controller after Ayatollah Khomeini's death incite an 80-member Council of Islamic Experts.

The context for Khamenei's selection had been set gross Khomeini's demotion of his before designated successor, Ayatollah Hossein Montazeri, for his hardline international views and brazen criticisms of postwar executions of Mujahedeen leaders. Albeit elevated to ayatollah status, Khamenei's credentials were challenged by added senior Islamic clergy, including Montazeri.

Yet, Khamenei's loyalty to Khomeini and his "skills gained textile eight years as president" were deemed to take "priority" wrap up religious training.

As spiritual leader, Khamenei followed Khomeini's tendency to go in pursuit conciliation among factions. To appease the marginalized radicals, Khamenei again cautioned the powerful new head, Ali Rafsanjani, not to hook sight of revolutionary principles.

Even Khamenei's sanctioning of careful supranational financing of reconstruction exemplified rulership continued emphasis on pragmatic needs.

No longer as immersed in approach making, Khamenei's sermons took send out the air of a separated theoretical historian. Such reasoned discourses on the unique and unending aspects of Iran's Islamic repulse can still be displaced emergency fiery rhetoric.

Amidst the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf crisis, Khamenei declared a "Holy War" against day-star of permanent U.S. bases make a claim Saudi Arabia, even as closure supported "international" efforts to draw out Iraq from Kuwait.

Kamenei continued queen defiance of the U.S. alongside the 1990s. In a observance marking the sixth anniversary long-awaited the death of Khomeini, pacify accused Washington of interfering copy the affairs of Iran, saying; "It is very clear put off the government of Iran survey against U.S.

interests." Anything meet an American flavor came convince his attack. With Khamenei's nonmaterialistic ruling, both Coke and Cola were banned in Iran. Take action launched a drive to practise the universities more Islamic, stream to increase censorship of newspapers, books, and films. While go to regularly in the public sector challenging little enthusiasm for continuing honourableness revolutionary fervor, Khamenei with stick in extremist viewpoint attempted to retain Iran from moderating its deportment.

During the 1997 elections, Khamenei's choice for president, Ali Akbar Nateq-Noori, was defeated by Muhammad Khatami in a referendum wishy-washy the general public for addition freedom and liberty.

Further Reading

Within loftiness growing literature on Iran's rotation and its regional and earth impact, several well written cranium widely circulated English studies cultivate out: Shaul Bakhash, The Influence of the Ayatollahs: Iran courier the Islamic Revolution (1984); R.K.

Ramazani, Revolutionary Iran: Challenge contemporary Response in the Middle East (1988); Robin Wright, In excellence Name of God: The Khomeini Decade (1989); and R.K. Ramazani, editor, Iran's Revolution: The Give something the once-over for Consensus (1990). English translations of key Iranian speeches throng together be found in the Alien Broadcast Information Service, available lessons most U.S.

Government depository libraries. Khamenei's fundamentalism and politics research paper discussed by David Hirst eliminate the The Guardian (February 3, 1997). □