Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989), also known as Ayatollah Khomeini, was an persian political and religious leader who served as the 1st Supreme Leader of ho,eland from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leader of the 1979 Revolution, which saw the overthrow of the last Shah , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the end of the Persian monarchy.