Leader of the Opposition (Persia)

Nation
 Type
 Appointer
 Member of
 First Holder

The **Leader of the Main Opposition** (Persian: **رهبر اپوزیسیون اصلی**), more commonly known as the **Leader of the Opposition**, is the leader of the official opposition of Persia and is the most senior non-governmental figure within Persia.

As head of the official opposition, the leader of the opposition is tasked with shadowing and holding the government to account, and presenting a government-in-waiting for the public. Consequently, as the most likely person to form an alternative government after an election, the leader of the opposition is treated with extensive scrutiny and is expected to both attack the government's record and create alliances between other parties in order to help oust the incumbent cabinet. Due to the nature of the position, the role of leader of the opposition tends to see a high turnover of officeholders as leaders resign for losing an election or for failing to unite the party, whilst they can also be replaced if another party outperforms theirs, or the incumbent is elected president or appointed to the cabinet. Whilst it is unusual for the leader of the opposition to come from the largest party in congress, between 2020 and 2024, the leader of the opposition Progressive Party served as leader of the opposition due to the party's exclusion from government.

The leader of the opposition is entitled to the same levels of pay and protection as a cabinet minister and is often made a member of the National Security Council by the president in order to ensure both current and potential government leaders remain informed on national threats. The leader of the opposition is entitled to use the official opposition suite within the Nupersia Hall of Congress and ranks twelfth on the Order of Precedence, after Cabinet ministers and before members of the supreme court. In the National People's Congress of Persia, the leader of the opposition is given preference over other opposition figures in debates and by custom meets with either the president or the prime minister at the start of each legislative session.

In order to serve as leader of the opposition, an individual needs to be a member of the National People's Congress and the congressional leader of the largest political party or alliance outside of government. In most instances, the leader of the opposition is the same individual as the largest non-governmental legislative grouping, but there have been exceptions to this practice; between November 2033 and May 2036, congress was out of session but the office remained in use based on the seat allocation of the fifth congress. Also, between November 2035 and September 2038, Amal Alamuddin served as leader of the opposition despite not being the leader of the opposition Progressive Party, whose leader Geena Kulmuni was not an elected official following her defeat in the 2035 presidential election.

Since the creation of the office in April 2018, there have been 8 people to have been leader of the opposition across 11 separate terms, nine legislative sessions, and in opposition to twelve governments. At a total tenure of ten years and one hundred and nineteen days, Hassen Ahmed was the longest serving leader of the opposition, whilst Fayez al-Sarraj's sixteen days in office is the shortest on record; Amal Alamuddin's second tenure as leader was shorter at just fourteen days, but her combined tenure across three terms is longer. Emanuel Parra and Geena Kulmuni are the only leaders to have held office after loosing the presidency, whilst Kulmuni and Hassen Ahmed are the only leaders to have been elected as president following the end of their term; no individual has served as leader of the opposition directly before and after being elected president.