Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran's new constitution constitutionalizes Khomeini's leadership
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The constitution did not choose Khomeini in any ordinary sense. It wrote into law that the people had already accepted him as Leader.
A two-day referendum, ending 3 December 1979
Voting on 2–3 December 1979 approved the constitution drafted by the 73-member Assembly of Experts. Official figures recorded 15,680,329 votes in favor and 78,516 against.
Opposition groups urged boycotts, and participation was especially weak in several minority regions.
No appointment, no ceremony
The text established rule by a qualified Islamic jurist and stated that Ruhollah Khomeini had already been accepted by the people as Leader. It recorded no separate appointment.
It specified a selection procedure principally for a future leader, and still contemplated a council of jurists if no single successor commanded clear public acceptance.
What the office carried
The constitutional office placed all three branches under the Leader's supervision, made Khomeini supreme commander of the armed forces, and gave him powers over senior judicial and Guardian Council appointments.
Khomeini was the same dominant ruler he had been since February. What changed was that his authority now rested on a permanent state institution above the presidency — the Islamic Republic itself having been proclaimed back on 1 April.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 4 sources 2 audit passes Date corrected
How this was checked
Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →
Date corrected. The research places this at 1979-12-03.
What the sources leave uncertain
- December 3 is the conventional effective date because it was the final day of the constitutional referendum. Voting took place over December 2–3.
- Calling this an “appointment” is misleading. The 1979 text treated Khomeini as a leader already recognized by the public and specified a selection procedure principally for a future leader.