Qassem Soleimani, also known as Haj Qassem and Shahid Soleimani, was born on March 11, 1957, in Qanat Malek village, Rabor County, Kerman province. After completing his education, he initially worked as a construction worker and later became a contractor.
Following the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Soleimani joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During the Iran-Iraq war, he played a key role in training battalions in Kerman and served as the commander of the West Azarbaijan forces for a period. 
In 1980, he was appointed as the commander of the 41st Tharallah Division of Kerman by Mohsen Rezaei, the then-commander of the IRGC. Soleimani took part in various military operations during the Iraq war, including Operation Dawn 8, Operation Karbala-4, and Operation Karbala-5. In 1998, he was appointed by Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force. 
He actively helped Palestinian resistance movements and Lebanon’s Hezbollah in their wars against the Israeli regime. In response to the emergence of Daesh (ISIL) terrorism in Iraq and Syria, Soleimani played a crucial role in organizing popular forces to combat and eliminate the terrorism threat in several areas.
Beyond military matters, Soleimani was involved in cultural initiatives. He is credited as the founder of Atabat Reconstruction Headquarters, overseeing the development plans of the shrines of Ahl al-Bayt (AS). Additionally, he contributed to the facilitation of the Arbaeen pilgrimage, ensuring the safety of its pilgrims.
On January 3, 2020, Qassem Soleimani was assassinated, along with deputy head of Iraq’s popular forces Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and others, in a drone attack ordered directly by the incumbent president of the United States Donald Trump.