Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith (b. 1897)
Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. Shoghi Effendi created a series of teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the faith to many new countries. He also translated and provided authoritative interpretation of many of the writings of the Baháʼí central figures. He was succeeded by an interim arrangement of the Hands of the Cause until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.Shoghi Effendi spent his early life in ʻAkká, but went on to study in Haifa and Beirut, gaining an arts degree from the Syrian Protestant College in 1918, then serving as secretary and translator to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. In 1920 he attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied political science and economics, but his second year was interrupted by the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and his appointment as Guardian at the age of 24.As the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi was the leader and head of the Baháʼí Faith for 36 years. He sent more than 17,500 letters, mostly in Persian and English, directing and keeping up with the progress of existing Baháʼí communities, responding to persecution in the Middle East, coordinating teaching efforts, and building up the Baháʼí World Centre in the ʻAkká/Haifa area. He appointed 32 living individuals (and 10 posthumously) to the rank of Hand of the Cause, a prominent position that oversaw teaching the faith and protecting it from attacks, and successfully oversaw the expansion of the religion from 1,034 localities in 1935 to 2,700 localities in 1953, and 14,437 localities in 1963. From the beginning to end of his leadership, the number of adherents to the Baháʼí Faith grew from 100,000 to 400,000.He was born Shoghí Rabbání but published and is commonly known as Shoghi Effendi. Because he was the only example of the role of 'Guardian', he is commonly referred to as The Guardian by Baháʼís.