Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces

Farmandeye Koll-e Qova (Persian: فرمانده کل قوا‎‎), formerly known as Bozorg Arteshtaran (Persian: بزرگ‌ارتشتاران‎‎) is the highest military position in Iran with the authority over all Armed Forces within the country.

According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the position is vested in the Supreme Leader of Iran and is held since 1981.

Commander-in-Chiefs

After the Persian Constitutional Revolution

№	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Length of term	Military rank	Service Branch
• Sublime State of Persia (1907–1925) •
1		Shah Mozaffar ad-Din Qajar	5 August 1906	3 January 1907	151 days	N/A	N/A
2		Shah Mohammad Ali Qajar	3 January 1907	16 July 1909	2 years, 194 days	N/A	N/A
–		Regent Alireza Khan	16 July 1909[1]	22 September 1910	1 year, 56 days	N/A	N/A
–		Regent Abolqasem Khan	22 September 1910[1]	21 July 1914	3 years, 314 days	N/A	N/A
3		Shah Ahmad Qajar	21 July 1914[1]	14 February 1925	11 years, 147 days	N/A	N/A
4		Prime Minister Reza Khan[lower-alpha 1]	14 February 1925[2]	15 December 1925	304 days	Brigadier general	Persian Cossack Brigade (1894–1921)
• Imperial State of Iran (1925–1979) •
1		Shah Reza Pahlavi	15 December 1925	16 September 1941	15 years, 275 days	Brigadier general	Persian Cossack Brigade (1894–1921)
2		Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	16 September 1941	21 July 1952	10 years, 309 days	Captain[3]	Imperial Iranian Army (1936–1941)[3]
3		Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh[lower-alpha 2]	21 July 1952	19 August 1953	1 year, 29 days	N/A	N/A
(2)		Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	19 August 1953	11 February 1979	25 years, 176 days	Captain	Imperial Iranian Army (1936–1941)
• Islamic Republic of Iran (1980–present) •
1		President Abolhassan Banisadr[lower-alpha 3]	5 February 1980	10 June 1981	1 year, 125 days	N/A	N/A
2		Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini	10 June 1981	3 June 1989	7 years, 358 days	N/A	N/A
3		Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei	4 June 1989	present	27 years, 186 days	N/A[lower-alpha 4]	Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (24 November 1979–24 February 1980)[6]

References

1. Appointed by the Parliament of Iran.^[2]
2. Mossadegh was granted emergency powers by Shah of Iran to rule by decree.^[4] While holding office as the Prime Minister and Minister of War (renamed to "Ministry of National Defence") simoltaniously, Mossadegh went over the authority of Shah the Commander-in-Chief vetted in the Persian Constitution of 1906 and appointed commanders in Imperial Iranian Army and Police.^[5]
3. Appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran.
4. He was caretaker of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the highest position in the corps.^[6] At the time military ranks were not used.

1. Sheikh-ol-Islami, M. J. (July 28, 2011) [December 15, 1984]. "AḤMAD SHAH QĀJĀR". In Yarshater, Ehsan. Encyclopædia Iranica. 6. I. New York City: Bibliotheca Persica Press. pp. 657–660. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
2. Elton L. Daniel (2012). The History of Iran. ABC-CLIO. p. 136. ISBN 0313375097.
3. Ali Akbar Dareini (1998). The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 15–16. ISBN 8120816420.
4. James Buchan (2013). Days of God: The Revolution in Iran and Its Consequences. Simon and Schuster. p. 64. ISBN 1416597778.
5. John Prados (2006). Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA. Ivan R. Dee. pp. 102–103. ISBN 1615780114.
6. Detailed biography of Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of Islamic Revolution, Khamenei.ir, retrieved 17 March 2016