Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini was the Shia cleric and marja who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, overthrowing the Pahlavi monarchy and establishing the Islamic Republic. He served as Supreme Leader from 1979 until his death in June 1989. He developed the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), which forms the constitutional basis of clerical rule in Iran.