Brochure+Info


 * Constitution
 * Iran does have a constitution.
 * Following the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979, a national referendum was held to approve the constitution. In 1989 several amendments were created as well.
 * The constitution made the Islamic Republic of Iran as a republic with nomial separation of powers amongs the executive, judicial, and legislative branch.
 * Chief/ Head of State
 * Executive power is divided between the president and the supreme leader with the latter yielding more power.
 * The chief/head of is Ali Khamenei.
 * There have been two Supreme Leaders since the Revolution in 1979: Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei.
 * Supreme Leader is the title of the Head of State.
 * Originally, the Supreme leader had to be one of the highest-ranking Shiite clerics; now, any person who was an established member of the clergy can be Supreme Leader. The Supreme Leader is elected by the Assembly of Experts.
 * The Supreme Leader holds his position for life.
 * The Supreme Leader is Commander in Chief of the military and appoints most of the government officials. He has discretion over both domestic and foreign policy. He has the most power in the Iranian State.


 * Executive Branch
 * The President – currently Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
 * Last three presidents are: Mohammad Khatami, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Ali Khamenei.
 * The President is directly voted for by the people for a four-year term. The president may not serve for more than two consecutive terms.
 * The President must be of Iranian origin and nationality, specifically a Shia Muslim. Also, the president must have administrative capacity and resourcefulness, a good past record, trustworthiness and piety, and convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
 * The President serves as the Head of Government and the Cabinet, Head of the Council of National Security, and Head of the Council of Cultural Revolution. The The relationship between the President and the Faqih is not clearly stated in the Constitution, while the Faqih does have more political power than the President, the actual amount of individual power has varied between each leader. For example, Rafsanjani, President, was an extremely powerful authoritarian leader who made the Faqih of his time, Ali Khamenei, subdue to his policies.
 * In addition to the Faqih and President, the Council of Guardians plays a role in the Executive Branch. It is a twelve member council that works with the supreme leader has veto power over legislation passed by the parliament. It also has the ability to dictate who has the right to run for an election. Also, the Assembly of Experts has the power to determine succession of the Supreme Leader as well as the power to review his performance and remove him if necessary.