Imam Ayatollah Seyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was a Muslim cleric and Marja, and the political leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Following the Revolution, Imam Khomeini became Grand Leader of Iran — the paramount figure in the political system of the new Islamic Republic — until his demise.

Imam Khomeini was considered a Marja-e taqlid to many Muslims, and in Iran was officially addressed as Imam rather than Grand Ayatollah. Two weeks after the Shah fled Iran on January 16, 1979, Imam Khomeini returned to Iran triumphantly, on Thursday, February 1, 1979, invited by the anti-Shah revolution which was already in progress. On February 11, Imam Khomeini declared a provisional government. On March 30, 1979, and March 31, 1979, the provisional government asked all Iranians sixteen years of age and older, male and female, to vote in a referendum on the question of accepting an Islamic Republic as the new form of government and constitution. Through the ballot box, over 98% voted in favor of replacing the monarchy with an Islamic Republic. Subsequent elections were held to approve of the newly-drafted Constitution. Along with the position of the Grand Leader, the constitution also requires that a president be elected every four years, but only those candidates approved indirectly by the Council of Guardians may run for the office. Imam Khomeini himself became instituted as the Grand Leader for life, and officially decreed as the “Leader of the Revolution.” After assuming power, Islam was made the basis of Iran’s new constitution and obedience to Islamic laws made compulsory.

Under Imam Khomeini’s rule, Sharia (Islamic law) was introduced, with the Islamic dress code enforced for both men and women. Women had to cover their hair, and men were not allowed to wear shorts.

Life for religious minorities has been mixed under Imam Khomeini and his successors. Shortly after his return from exile in 1979, Imam Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering that Jews and other minorities (except Bahai) be treated well. By law, several seats in the Parliament are reserved for minority religions. Imam Khomeini also called for unity between Sunni and Shia Muslims (Sunni Muslims are the largest religious minority in Iran).

After eleven days in a hospital for an operation to stop internal bleeding, Imam Khomeini died of cancer on Saturday, June 3, 1989, at the age of 89. Many Iranians mourned Imam Khomeini’s death and poured out into the cities and streets. More than 10 million people from across the country attended Imam Khomeini’s funeral to form one of the largest ever funerals in the world.

Following Imam Khomeini’s demise, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei came to be selected on June 4, 1989 by the Assembly of Experts to be his successor, in accordance with the Constitution.

Family and descendants

In 1929, Imam Khomeini married Batol Saqafi Khomeini, the daughter of a cleric in Tehran. They had seven children, though only five survived infancy, 3 daughters and 2 sons. His sons entered into religious life. The elder son, Mostafa, was murdered in 1977 while in exile with his father in Najaf, Iraq and SAVAK (the Imperial-era secret police) was accused of his death by Imam Khomeini. Ahmad Khomeini, the younger son, died in 1995.

Imam Khomeini’s grandson Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, son of the late Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, is also a cleric and the trustee of Imam Khomeini’s shrine.

Works:

• Velayat-e Faqih
• Forty Hadiths (Forty Traditions)  
• Adab-e Salat (The Disciplines of Prayers)       
• Jihad-e Akbar (The Greater Struggle)
• Tahrir al-Wasilah
• Interpretation of Surah Fatihah
• Serr al-Salat (Secrets of Prayers)
• Interpretation of Dawn Pray
• Interpretation of Forces of Reason and Negligence Tradition 
• Hajj

https://english.khamenei.ir/news/2116/Imam-Khomeini-s-Biography

On the 16th of July 1939, the future Leader of Islamic Iran was born in the holy city of Mashhad, in the province of Khorasan. Sayyed Ali was the second son of Sayyed Javad Khamenei, a humble and poor Islamic scholar who taught all members of his family how to lead a simple, humble way of life.

The following is a list of the services he has rendered to the Islamic Republic since that time: 

1980- Founding member of the Islamic Republic Party, together with such religious scholars and Mujahids as Shahid Beheshti, Rafsanjani, Shahid Bahonar, and Musavi-Ardebili.
• Deputy-Minister of Defence
• Supervisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards
• Imam of Tehran’s Friday Congregational Prayers, per Imam Khomeini’s decree.
• Elected Tehran MP in the Majlis (Consultative Assembly) 
1981- Imam Khomeini’s Representative at the High Council of Defence
• Active presence at the fronts of the Iraqi-imposed war.
1982- Elected President of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the martyrdom of President Mohammad Ali Rajai (Ayatollah Khamenei was himself the target of an assassination attempt at Abu Dhar mosque in Tehran after which he was hospitalized for a few months).
• Appointed Chairman of the Revolution’s Cultural Council.
1986- President of the Expediency Council
• Re-elected President of the Islamic Republic for a second 4-year term
1989- Elected as the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the demise of Imam Khomeini.
1990- Chairman of the Committee for Revision of the Constitution.

Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi 

Ebrahim Raisi, in full Ebrahīm Raʾīs al-Sādātī, (born December 14, 1960, Mashhad, Iran), Iranian cleric, prosecutor, and politician who served as Iran’s head of the judiciary (2019–21) and later as the country’s president.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts is one of the ministries of Iran that operates under the executive branch of Iran, which is responsible for managing issues related to Iran’s historical and ancient monuments as well as Iran’s tourism management.

Minister: Ezzatollah Zarghami

Sayyid Ezzatollah Zarghami is current minister of Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism. He was Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) before.

The Civil Aviation Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran (CAO.IRI), is Iran’s civil aviation agency. It is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Iran. The organization was established in July 1946 and its headquartered at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. It investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Iran.

Mohammad Mohammadi

Mohammad Mohammadi is Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and Head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran.

Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr (March 1933 – 9 October 2021)

He was the first president of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution abolished the monarchy, serving from February 1980 until his impeachment by parliament in June 1981. Prior to his presidency, he was the minister of foreign affairs in the interim government. Following his impeachment, Banisadr fled Iran and found political asylum in France. 

Mohammad-Ali Rajai (June 1933 – 30 August 1981)

Was the second president of Iran from 2 to 30 August 1981 after serving as prime minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also minister of foreign affairs from 11 March 1981 to 15 August 1981, while he was prime minister. He was assassinated(He was martyred) in a bombing on 30 August 1981 along with prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar.

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei(borne On the 16th of July 1939)

1982- Elected President of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the martyrdom of President Mohammad Ali Rajai (Ayatollah Khamenei was himself the target of an assassination attempt at Abu Dhar mosque in Tehran after which he was hospitalized for a few months).
• Appointed Chairman of the Revolution’s Cultural Council.
1986- President of the Expediency Council
• Re-elected President of the Islamic Republic for a second 4-year term
1989- Elected as the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the demise of Imam Khomeini.
1990- Chairman of the Committee for Revision of the Constitution.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017)

He was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic who was the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997.

Seyed Mohammad Khatami(Born 14 October 1943)

Seyed Mohammad Khatami is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran’s Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad(Born 28 October 1956)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an Iranian conservative politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He served as mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005, reversing many of his predecessor’s reforms.

Hassan Rouhani (born 12 November 1948)

Hassan Rouhani is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He has been a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts since 1999. He was a member of the Expediency Council from 1991 to 2021, and also was a member of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2021. Rouhani was deputy speaker of the fourth and fifth terms of the Parliament of Iran (Majlis) and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005.

Seyed Ebrahim Raisi (born 14 December 1960)

Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi, is an Iranian principlist politician, Muslim jurist, and the eighth and current president of Iran since 3 August 2021, having been elected to the presidency in the 2021 election.