Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamene'I

Born: Mashad, 15 July, 1939

Sayyed Ali Khamene'i was born in

Mashad, the holiest city, in the

north-eastern province of Khorasan, in

1939. Both his parents belonged to

clergy's families and spent the year

1964, he achieved the highest degrees

in his theological studies at the

Theological Academy of Qum but

continued his studies at the Theological

Academy at Mashad up to the age of

twenty-nine.

Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamene'i proved a

worthy student of Iman Khomeini: Joined

his Islamic movement in 1962 and was

imprisoned and exiled several times between 1963 and 1978 for his

active role in organising the masses aganist the Pahlavi regime.

A list of some of his active posts, since the sucess of the

Revolution, shows the confidence Imam Khomeini had in him:

March 1979 - Member of the Revolutionary Council

August 1979 - Commander of the Revolutionary Guards

January 1980 - Friday Prayer Leader, Tehran

March 1980 - Member of Majlis from Tehran

September 1981 - Secretary General, Hizb Jamhouri Islami

On June 27, 1981, he was seriously injured by a bomb planted by

MKO terrorist, and his right arm was disabled. He was elected

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in October of 1981 and got

re-elected in August 1985.

Upon the death of Imam Khomeini, he was elected the leader of IR

of Iran. He takes keen interest in the development of educational

system at Qum; and has established the Computerised Research

Centre of the Islamic Knowledge there with various important

projects.

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