![]() |
Yousef Saanei | |
---|---|
يوسف صانعى | |
![]() The late Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei in his office. | |
Title | Grand Ayatollah |
Personal | |
Born | 16 October 1937 Isfahan, Iran |
Died | 12 September 2020 Qom, Iran | (aged 82)
Religion | Islam |
Nationality | Iranian |
Member of the Assembly of Experts | |
In office 10 December 1982 – 8 October 1990 | |
Preceded by | Office Began |
Succeeded by | Ahmad Khomeini |
Constituency | Tehran Province |
Prosecutor-General of Iran | |
In office 1983–1985 | |
Appointed by | Ruhollah Khomeini |
Preceded by | Mohammad-Mehdi Rabbani Amlashi |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha |
Jurisprudence | Twelver Shia |
Creed | Usuli |
Political party | Islamic Republican Party (1980s)[1] |
Main interest(s) | Politics, Jurisprudence, Marja'yah and Theology |
Relations | Hassan Sane'i (brother) |
Website | http://saanei.org/ |
Yousef Saanei (Persian: يوسف صانعى; 16 October 1937[2][3] – 12 September 2020)[4] was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja' and politician, a member of the Islamic Republic of Iran's powerful Guardian Council from 1980 to 1983 and also Attorney-General of Iran from 1983 to 1985.[5]
Whether he was a Marja' (Grand Ayatollah) was disputed. His calls for radical political reform in Iran were very controversial and in 2010 the government-sponsored "Qom Theological Lecturers Association" (Jame-e-Modarressin) declared him no longer qualified for emulation as a Grand Ayatollah. However, many of his followers continued to consider him their Marja,[citation needed] and this was acknowledged by several influential Maraji such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili, and Hossein Noori Hamedani.[6]