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Ali Khamenei

Khameni is the current Supreme Leader of Iran and longest tenured ruler in the Middle East. He has served since 1989 after being President from 1981-1989.

Background

Ali Khamenei was very close with Iran's first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, and was elected by the assembly of experts due in large part to that and his role in the revolution and post-revolutionary Iran.

Khamenei
was first elected in 1981 with 95.05% of the vote. Candidates that placed 2 through 4 endorsed Khamenei, and the remaining ~2% of ballots were blank or invalid. That is to say, Khamenei essentially won 100% of the vote. He handily won again in 1985 and was elected Supreme Leader in 1989 and has held the position ever since.

Further Reading

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