Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Kh?mene’i ( pronounced [?æ?li hosej?ni x?mene??i] born 17 July 1939), also known as Ali Khamenei, is an Iranian politician and cleric. He has been Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989 and was president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He has been described as one of only three people having "important influences" on the Islamic Republic of Iran, the other two being Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the revolution, and Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president of Iran for much of the 1990s. The biggest challenge to his leadership arises in the mass protests following the June 2009 presidential elections. during which more than 20 citizens were killed and nearly two thousand people were arrested. Named to the TIME 100 in 2007, he was the target of a terrorist attack in June 1981 and consequently his right hand was paralyzed. In 2000, he was listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as one of top ten enemies of the press and freedom of expression.