Iran · 1979–1989
Ruhollah Khomeini
Founded the Islamic Republic. Clerical rule, morality law, and execution of opponents.
Ruhollah Khomeini is on the world-leaders chart for Iran, 1979–1989. The placement note, from the public governing record, is: Founded the Islamic Republic. Clerical rule, morality law, and execution of opponents.
The dot is economics -8 and authority +90, on a scale from −100 to +100. That is near the middle on economics. The other axis sits toward authority. Left means a larger public role. Up means more authority. Neither direction is treated as the correct one.
A second note separates what was said in public from what the government then did. Said: An Islamic republic in place of the Shah, with justice for the dispossessed. Done: Clerical supremacy, a morality police, and executions of the old regime and the left. The gap, when there is one, is part of the placement. A promise that was kept and a promise that was dropped are not given the same weight.
The nearest other figures on these two numbers are Xi Jinping (China, -6 / +86) and Vladimir Putin (Russia, +14 / +80). Nearest means nearest on the chart, not alike in character.
Ruhollah Khomeini is marked as a historical extreme so the corner of the scale is not empty. The dot is not a recommendation, and it stays off the default nearest list unless it is closer than every ordinary figure.