Portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini
Radical right · Leader · From history

Ruhollah Khomeini

Supreme Leader of Iran, 1979 to 1989

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Led the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah and founded an Islamic republic ruled by clerics.

Ruhollah Khomeini sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: leaning state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly traditional on culture and strongly religious on religion.

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Where Ruhollah Khomeini sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyLeaning state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-cautious
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsLeaning anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionStrongly religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Ruhollah Khomeini

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of Turkey, 2014 to present (Prime Minister 2003 to 2014)97%Mojtaba Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran, 2026 to present96%Vladimir Putin President of Russia, 2000 to present (with a term as prime minister)96%Charlemagne King of the Franks and Emperor, 768 to 81496%Évariste Ndayishimiye President of Burundi, 2020 to present95%António de Oliveira Salazar Prime Minister of Portugal, 1932 to 196892%Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, 2019 to present92%Salva Kiir President of South Sudan, 2011 to present91%

People furthest from Ruhollah Khomeini

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19400%John Lennon British musician and peace activist, 1940 to 19801%Bertrand Russell British philosopher and pacifist, 1872 to 19701%Murray Bookchin American social theorist, 1921 to 20061%

Political views closest to Ruhollah Khomeini

IslamismA broad family of movements that seek to organize politics and law around Islam, from…97%Religious rightSeeks to shape law and politics by religious, often Christian, values.94%National conservatismPrioritizes national sovereignty, cultural identity, tradition and firm borders.87%MilitarismTreats military strength and martial values as central to national life.86%

Read more about Ruhollah Khomeini

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Biographies of Ruhollah KhomeiniBooks on islamism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Ali Kaveh [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.