Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Political Career

            Seyyed Ali Khamenei is the second Supreme Leader of Iran. He was elected by the Assembly of Experts on June 4, 1989. The Assembly of Experts liked Khamenei so much that they gave him the position of Supreme Leader although he was not qualified according to Iranian law. According to the Iranian constitution, a Supreme Leader needed to hold the status of a marja, an authority on Islam's religious laws. The law was changed specifically allow Khamenei to take this position.

            His political career started before the Iranian Revolution. This includes helping found the Islamic Republic Party, a revolutionary political party pushing for a powerful Islamic Republic. Throughout his political career, Khamenei had a close relationship with the previous Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. Khamenei was also the Iranian president from 1981 to 1989. He was elected into office twice and received a vast majority of the votes both times. In 1981, before he became president, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt. The near death experience actually raised his popularity among the Iranian people and helped him win the election.

            As the Supreme Leader, Khamenei is a conservative leader and has very much followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Khomeini. During his time in office, he has allowed little in the way of reforms to already standing laws. This includes his rejection of the 2000 parliamentary bill that attempted to modify press laws.

Relations between the Supreme Leader and President

             The Supreme Leader, Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have a good relationship. They see eye to eye on most policies, which allows the president to create and enforce his laws. The Supreme leader is highly supportive of Ahmadinejad's stance on not halting the country's nuclear program. Another thing the two men have in common, is they both are vocal about their distaste for the United States of America's political administration. He spoke harshly against it when he heard that the U.S.A. was blaming Iran for their own soldiers' deaths in Iraq. Khamenei has been quoted saying that he considers U.S.A. and Israel to be Iran's greatest enemies. He has also stated that his goal as Supreme Leader of Iran is to create a Middle Eastern empire that will be strong enough to confront the Western powers.

             A good relationship with the Supreme Leader is important. The previous Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, was labeled a reformist, and throughout his time in office, he faced conflict with Supreme Leader Khamenei and others in the Iranian leadership. Even though he was given the title of reformist by some, Khatami was far from revolutionary. He was quoted speaking out against homosexuality and opted not to sign one of the United Nations agreements on stopping discrimination against women. The former president was praised by the international community for wanting to create more friendly international relations, although he was heavily criticized by his own people for the same reasons. The international community also credits Khatami with giving more freedom to the Iranian press.

For more information, look at the Office of the Supreme Leader's official website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/EN/index.php#

News Articles:

http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2007/october-2007/has-the-islamic-republic-a-foreign-policy.shtml

        "Does the Islamic Republic Have a Foreign Policy" -Safa Haeri

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3018932.stm

        "Profile: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei"

Sources:

http://www.wikipedia.org/