Iranian Supreme Leader election, 1989

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Supreme Leader election, 1989
Flag of Iran.svg
June 4, 1989 (1989-06-04) Next  →
86 Members in the Assembly of Experts
58 votes needed to win
Turnout86.04%
  Portrait of Ali Khamenei, 1985 (2).jpg Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani in his study room (cropped).jpg
Candidate Ali Khamenei Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani
Yes voteFirst Round:—
Second Round:60		First Round:13
Second Round:–
PercentageFirst Round:—
Second Round:69.76%		First Round:15.11%
Second Round:–
Leader before election

Ruhollah Khomeini

Elected Leader

Ali Khamenei

The Supreme Leader of Iran election, 1989 was an indirect election where the Assembly of Experts members voted to choose the second Supreme Leader of Iran. The election was held on June 4, 1989, the morning after Ruhollah Khomeini's death and Ali Khamenei was elected as his successor with 60 votes out of 74. [1]

An indirect election is an election in which voters do not choose between candidates for an office, but elect people who then choose. It is one of the oldest forms of elections, and is still used today for many presidents, cabinets, upper houses, and supranational legislatures. Presidents and prime ministers can be indirectly elected by parliaments or by a special body convened solely for that purpose. The election of the executive government in most parliamentary systems is indirect: elect the parliamentarians, who then elect the government including most prominently the prime minister from among themselves. Upper houses, especially of federal republics, can be indirectly elected by state legislatures or state governments. Similarly, supranational legislatures can be indirectly elected by constituent countries' legislatures or executive governments.

Assembly of Experts

The Assembly of Experts —also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts— is the deliberative body empowered to designate and dismiss the Supreme Leader of Iran. However all directly-elected members after the vetting process by the Guardian Council still have to be approved by the Supreme Leader of Iran before gaining membership to the Assembly of Experts.

Supreme Leader of Iran Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Supreme Leader of Iran, also referred to as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the Supreme Leadership Authority, is the head of state as well as the ultimate political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The armed forces, judiciary, state television, and other key government organizations are subject to the Supreme Leader. The current longtime officeholder, Ali Khamenei, has been issuing decrees and making the final decisions on economy, environment, foreign policy, education, national planning, and everything else in Iran. Khamenei also makes the final decisions on the amount of transparency in elections, and has dismissed and reinstated presidential cabinet appointees. The Supreme Leader directly chooses the ministers of Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as certain other ministers, such as the Science Minister. Iran's regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran's ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Corps, which directly report to the Supreme Leader.

According to the testimony of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the chamber before voting, in accordance with Ruhollah Khomeini's wish, Ali Khamenei was a suitable successor for him. He testified that in a meeting in late March 1989, Ruhollah Khomeini was asked about lack of a suitable successor for him after Hussein-Ali Montazeri was deposed and then he replied that Ali Khamenei is suitable. [2]

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Iranian politician, Shia cleric and Writer

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was an influential Iranian politician, writer and one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic who was the fourth President of Iran from 3 August 1989 until 3 August 1997. He was the head of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 until 2011, when he decided not to nominate himself for the post. He was also the chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Ruhollah Khomeini 20th-century Iranian religious leader and politician

Sayyid Ruhollah Mūsavi Khomeini, known in the Western world as Ayatollah Khomeini, was an Iranian politician and marja. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the end of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution of the Islamic Republic as the highest-ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death. He was succeeded by Ali Khamenei on 4 June 1989.

Ali Khamenei Iranian Shiite faqih, Marja and official independent islamic leader

Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei is a marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously President of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the second-longest serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

Video clip

On 8 January 2018, during the 2017–18 Iranian protests, a video from 1989 showing Ali Khamenei before the Assembly of Experts as part of the Supreme Leader elections saying he was not religiously qualified to be Supreme leader, prior to his appointment to the post. Khamenei, who was ranked as a Hujjat al-Islam and not a Marja' as required by the Iranian constitution, said he would only be a "ceremonial leader", and was reassured by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani the position would be "temporary" until a referendum, apparently planned for one year later. The video went viral, and caused embarrassment to Khamenei as Iranian authorities were attempting to quell the protests. [3] [4] [5] According to Radio Farda, if this was a deliberate leak the timing of leak is "quite interesting" due to the dangerous uncertainty to the regime caused by the widespread protests. [6]

2017–18 Iranian protests series of demonstrations in Iran beginning on 28 December 2017

The 2017–2018 Iranian protests refer to a series of public protests occurring in various cities throughout Iran beginning on 28 December 2017 and continuing into 2018. The first protest took place in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city by population, initially focused on the economic policies of the country's government; however, as protests spread throughout the country, their scope expanded to include political opposition to the theocratic regime of Iran and its longtime Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. According to The Washington Post, protesters' chants and attacks on government buildings upended a system that had little tolerance for dissent, with some demonstrators even shouting "Death to the dictator!" — referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and asking security forces to join them.

Marja highest clerical rank in Usuli Twelver Shia Islam

In Shia Islam, marjaʿ, also known as a marjaʿ taqlīd or marjaʿ dīnī, literally meaning "source to imitate/follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and less-credentialed clerics. After the Qur'an and the prophets and imams, marājiʿ are the highest authority on religious laws in Usuli Shia Islam.

Related Research Articles

President of Iran position

The President of Iran is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The President is the highest ranking official of Iran. The President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state. Unlike the executive in other countries, the President of Iran does not have full control over anything, as these are ultimately under the control of the Supreme Leader. Chapter IX of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran sets forth the qualifications for presidential candidates. The procedures for presidential election and all other elections in Iran are outlined by the Supreme Leader. The President functions as the executive of the decrees and wishes of the Supreme Leader. These include signing treaties and other agreements with foreign countries and international organizations, with Supreme Leader's approval; administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, as decreed by the Supreme Leader. The President also appoints the ministers, subject to the approval of Parliament, and the Supreme Leader who can dismiss or reinstate any of the ministers at any time, regardless of the president or parliament's decision. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly chooses the ministries of Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as certain other ministries, such as the Science Ministry. Iran’s regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran’s ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Corps, which directly reports to the Supreme Leader.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Iranian politician and architect

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest. Mousavi served as the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts until 2009, when Conservative authorities removed him.

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Iranian politician and cleric

Sayyid Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi was an Iranian Twelver Shia cleric and conservative politician who was the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council from 14 August 2017 until his death on 24 December 2018. He was previously the Chief Justice of Iran from 1999 to 2009.

Mohammad Yazdi iranian ayatollah

Mohammad Yazdi is an Iranian cleric who served as the head of Judiciary System of Iran between 1989 and 1999. In 2015, he was elected to lead Iran's Assembly of Experts, defeating Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president, by a vote count of 47 to 24.

Ali Akbar Velayati Iranian politician

Ali Akbar Velayati is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, senior adviser to the Supreme Leader in international affairs and head of the board of founders and the board of trustees of the Islamic Azad University.

1989 Iranian presidential election election

The Iranian presidential election of 1989 took place on July 28, 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the selection of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the previous President of Iran, as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. Out of the seventy-nine candidates registered to run, only two were approved by the Council of Guardians, which resulted in a very predictable win by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the previous Speaker of Majlis.

A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 28 July 1989, alongside presidential elections. Approved by 97.6% of voters, It was the first and so far only time the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been amended. It made several changes to articles 5, 107, 109, 111, and added article 176. It eliminated the need for the Supreme Leader (rahbar) of the country to be a marja or chosen by popular acclaim, it eliminated the post of prime minister, and it created a Supreme National Security Council.

Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani Iranian grand ayatollah

Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Golpaygani was an Iranian Shia Islam cleric and marja. He was born in Gogad village, near the city of Golpaygan, Iran. He was taught preliminary studies by his father, Mohammad Bagher. At the age of 9, his father died, and he moved to Golpaygan to continue his studies. At the age of 20, he moved to Arak to study under Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi. After Ha'eri Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Khansari founded the hawza of Qom, he moved there and delivered lectures in the Islamic Seminary. He was one of the highest-ranking Islamic clergy to participate in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and a one-time serious contender to succeed Ruhollah Khomeini as the Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989. However, his candidacy was voted down by the Assembly of Experts, in favor of the eventual successor and current leader, Ali Khamenei.

Mojtaba Khamenei Son of Irans supreme leader

Sayyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei is a son of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. He took part in the Iran–Iraq War operations between 1980 and 1988. Mojtaba reportedly took control over the Basij militia that was used to suppress the protests over the 2009 election.

Prime ministership of Mir-Hossein Mousavi were the third and fourth government of Iran after the Iranian Revolution. At that time, Ali Khamenei was the president.

Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi (1985–89)

In August 1981, President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar were assassinated in an explosion. Ali Khamenei was then elected as the third president of Iran in the Iranian presidential election, October 1981. He put forward Ali Akbar Velayati as his prime minister, but the Iranian parliament did not give him the vote of confidence, and he was defeated with a vote of 80 to 74. Subsequently, Ali Khamenei, though he had strong disagreements with Mousavi, as a compromise with the left-leaning parliament, agreed to offer him, Mousavi, for the post of premier. On 28 October, the parliament approved Mousavi with a vote of 115 to 39. Mousavi became the 79th Prime Minister of Iran on 31 October 1981, and remained the prime minister of Iran until 3 August 1989, for eight years.

2013 Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani presidential campaign

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 until 1997.

Events from the year 1989 in Iran.

Events in the year 2017 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Death and state funeral of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

On 8 January 2017, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth President of Iran and the country's Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council, died at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack. He was transferred to a hospital in Tajrish, north Tehran without consciousness. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than an hour trying to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at 19:30 local time (UTC+3:30).

References

  1. ↑ Amir Arjomand, Saïd (2009). After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN   9780199745760.
  2. 1 2 Peterson, Scott (2010). Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran--A Journey Behind the Headlines. Simon and Schuster. p. 196. ISBN   9781416597391.
  3. ↑ Iran’s supreme leader blames US-Israeli plot for protests, Financial Times, 9 January 2018
  4. ↑ Leaked Video Embarrasses Iran’s Khamenei, Implicates Rafsanjani, Asharq Al Aswat, 10 January 2018
  5. ↑ Leaked video reveals new details about election of Iran's supreme leader, Al-Monitor, 11 January 2018
  6. ↑ Shocking Video Clip From 1989 Shows Khamenei Elected Only For One Year As A Caretaker, Radio Farda, 9 January 2018
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