Ali Khamenei (1939–2026)
Born 1939 CE, died 2026 CE.
Ali Hosseini Khamenei (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the second supreme leader of Iran from 1989 until his assassination in 2026. A member of the Khamenei family who held the title Grand Ayatollah, he previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His 36-year tenure as supreme leader made him the longest-serving head of state in West Asia at the time of his death. Born in Mashhad to the Khamenei family, he studied at a hawza there before settling in Qom in 1958, where he attended the classes of Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei became involved in opposition to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was arrested six times before being exiled for three years by the Pahlavi government. Khamenei was a mainstream figure in the Iranian Revolution, and upon its success, held many posts in the newly established Islamic republic. In the aftermath of the revolution, he was the target of an attempted assassination that paralysed his right arm. Khamenei served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989 during the Iran–Iraq War, when he also developed close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
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