Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (Persian: روح الله موسوی خمینی (help·info), Rūḥullāh Mūsawī Khumaynī) (September 24, 1902^[1][2] – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian politician, scholar and religious figure, and the political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Persia). Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader—the paramount political figure of the new Islamic Republic until his death.

Khomeini was a marja or marja al-taqlid, ("source of emulation"), providing religious leadership to many Twelver Shi'a Muslims, but is most famous for his political role. In his writings and preachings he expanded the Shi'a theory of velayat-e faqih, the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)" to include theocratic political rule by Islamic jurists and to provide the theological basis for his rule of Iran. Internationally he also made a great impact, and has been called "the virtual face of Islam in Western popular culture,"^[3] during his reign as ruler of Iran. He was named Time's Man of the Year in 1979 and also one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century.