Supreme Leader of Iran

Powers and responsibilities

The Supreme Leader wields a wide range of constitutional and extra‑constitutional powers that place the office above the elected presidency and parliament. Major functions include:

• Determining the general policies of the state and supervising their correct implementation.
• Command over the armed forces and security organs, including ultimate authority over the national military and revolutionary forces; key military appointments are made under this authority (military).
• Appointment and dismissal of senior officials: the head of the judiciary, senior judges, the head of state media, and other influential positions within the government and administration.
• Influence over the judicial system and legal interpretation through appointment powers in the judiciary.
• Power to declare war or state of emergency in coordination with other bodies and to ratify or veto key policies and treaties.

Selection, tenure and oversight

The Supreme Leader is chosen and can be removed by the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of clerics charged with supervising the leader's performance. The office is not term-limited and incumbents typically serve for life unless the Assembly determines otherwise. The selection process emphasizes religious credentials and perceived political competence; in practice, political networks and institutional influence affect both appointment and governance.

Although the President of Iran is the highest elected official and runs day-to-day government affairs, the Supreme Leader retains veto power and overarching control of strategic and security matters. This separation produces a dual structure in which elected and non‑elected authorities share power in different spheres.

History and notable holders

The office was first held by Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 revolution and established the role to anchor clerical oversight of the state. After his death in 1989, the Assembly of Experts selected Ali Khamenei as his successor; Khamenei has served since then. The character of the office has evolved as the political system and institutions developed, but its central function as the supreme authority has remained constant.

The Supreme Leader's prominence shapes Iran's domestic politics and foreign policy by concentrating ultimate decision-making and symbolic legitimacy in a single office. Debates about reform, the balance between elected institutions and clerical authority, and the limits of the Leader's power continue to be central themes in Iranian political discourse.

For further context and institutional details see primary sources and analyses via relevant reference links: role overview, state framework, religious authority, executive branch, armed forces, government appointments, judicial relations, historical holders.