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Khadijeh Saqafi

Khadijeh Saqafi
خدیجه ثقفی
Saqafi in 1987
Spouse of the Supreme Leader of Iran
In role
3 December 1979 – 3 June 1989
Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini
Succeeded byMansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh
Personal details
Born1915 or 1916
Tehran, Sublime State of Persia
Died (aged 93)[1][2]
Tehran, Iran
Resting placeMausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1929; died 1989)​
Children7, including Mostafa, Zahra, Farideh, and Ahmad

Khadijeh Saqafi (Persian: خدیجه ثقفی‎; 1915/1916 – 21 March 2009) was an Iranian revolutionary and the wife of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran and figurehead of the Iranian Revolution.

Early life

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Saqafi was born in 1915 or 1916 in Tehran, the daughter of Hajj Mirza Mohammad Thaqafi-e Tehrani, a respected cleric and merchant.[3]

Marriage and later years

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Saqafi became the child bride of 29-year-old Ruhollah Khomeini in 1929[3][4] or 1931.[2] They had seven children together, although only five survived childhood.[4] The family resided in Qom until Khomeini's exile in 1964.[5] Their son Mostafa died in Iraq in 1977 while in exile, while their second son Ahmad died of cardiac arrest in 1995.[2]

Throughout their marriage, Saqafi largely stayed out of the public eye, although she was described as being a strong supporter of her husband's opposition to the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[2] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, referred to Saqafi as the "closest and most patient" supporter of her husband.[2]

Death

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Saqafi died in Tehran on 21 March 2009 aged 93, following a long illness.[1][2] Thousands attended her funeral at the University of Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[2] Saqafi was buried next to her husband and son at his mausoleum in Behesht-e Zahra.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Iranians mourn Khomeini's widow". BBC News. 22 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Khadijeh Saqafi, Khomeini's Wife, Is Dead at 93". The New York Times. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b Dabashi, Hamid (1993). Theology of Discontent: The Ideological Foundations of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (PDF). New York: New York University Press. p. 410. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Marital life". Imam-khomeini.ir. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012.
  5. ^ Azizi, Arash (4 June 2019). "Three decades after Khomeini's death, his clan rules from the sidelines". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019.
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Honorary titles
First
New title
 Spouse of the Supreme Leader of Iran
1979–1989 		Succeeded byas wife of Ali Khamenei