Founder

His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was the founder of the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Development Network and the 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual Leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. For him, one manifestation of his hereditary responsibilities was a deep engagement with development for more than 60 years.

Early life and designation as Imam of the Ismaili Community

His Late Highness was born on 13 December 1936 in Geneva. The eldest son of Prince Aly Khan by his first wife, Joan Yarde-Buller, he spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, and attended the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Islamic History.

At the age of 20, Prince Karim succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, as Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslim.  The Ismailis belong to the Shia branch of Islam, one of the two major interpretations of Islam, the Sunni being the other. The Ismaili Muslims are a global, multi-ethnic community whose members, comprising a wide diversity of cultures, languages and nationalities, live in Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and North America.

The role of the Ismaili Imam is to guide his community in both spiritual and material aspects of life, which are considered complementary and intertwined. His Late Highness led the interpretation of the faith and guided the Ismaili community to improve its quality of life and the well-being of those among whom the community resides.

Bridge building

An inspiring leader, gifted statesman and great humanitarian, His Late Highness embodied the understanding, tolerance and ecumenism shared by the world’s great religions. He promoted the crucial importance of peace as a foundational building block for the progress of society. His personal efforts over the course of six decades played a vital role in bringing peace to a fragmented world. He facilitated diplomatic talks at regional and global levels, including the landmark 1985 summit between Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva.

Throughout his life, His Late Highness emphasised the view that Islam is a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion and tolerance and that upholds the dignity of humankind. As such, pluralism – the embrace and celebration of diversity – has formed a central pillar of the Ismaili Imamat’s work. In partnership with the Government of Canada, His Late Highness founded the Global Centre for Pluralism in 2006. The Centre works with policy leaders, educators and community builders around the world to amplify and implement the transformative power of pluralism.

Continuing a familial history of public service – his grandfather was twice President of the League of Nations and his uncle was a long-serving UN High Commissioner for Refugees – His Late Highness cared deeply about the continued development of communities and societies, including, but not limited to, his own. This stemmed from the responsibility of the Imam, as he saw it, to help improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations.

To this end, and guided by the ethical principles of Islam, he established the Aga Khan Development Network.

The Aga Khan Development Network

His Late Highness founded what is today known as the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) more than 50 years ago. Its purpose is to improve the quality of life of those in need – regardless of origin, race, gender, or religion – through efforts in health care, education, habitat, culture and the creation of economic opportunity. Today, the AKDN is active in more than 30 countries, with a particular focus on some of the poorest parts of Asia and Africa.

AKDN’s agencies include the Aga Khan Health Services, Aga Khan Schools, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, the Aga Khan Foundation, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, as well as the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.

His Late Highness guided all the agencies that comprise the AKDN to work closely with national and local governments on a politically neutral basis, and to identify and implement solutions in a collaborative manner. The alleviation of poverty, enhancement of pluralism and gender equality, and protection of the environment are among its key areas of focus.

This institutional framework and holistic approach have led to the establishment of two universities, over 200 schools and more than 700 health facilities. There are parks and gardens; foundations that work in social and cultural development, as well as microfinance; programmes in environmental protection and climate change mitigation, habitat planning, disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance. There are also businesses in commercial banking, insurance, telecommunications, energy, tourism and media.

The AKDN’s impact is wide. For example, it annually generates electricity for 10 million people, provides health care to 5 million, educates 2 million students, and hosts 5 million visitors at its parks and gardens. With an annual budget of approximately US$1 billion for its non-profit activities, AKDN agencies employ some 96,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Asians and Africans living and working in their home countries or regions.

Engagement in education

Providing access to high-quality education in the developing world and promoting gender-equal education were among His Late Highness’s most important priorities. He inherited and enhanced schools that his grandfather, Aga Khan III, established in Asia and Africa, and expanded the portfolio to 200 schools serving more than 85,000 students.

Following the tradition of his ancestors, who founded Al-Azhar University in Cairo in 970, His Late Highness placed great importance on education. He established the Aga Khan University in 1983 as Pakistan’s first private, internationally chartered university, which is home to leading medical, nursing and education faculties and programmes. It operates in six countries. In partnership with the governments of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan through an international treaty, he founded the University of Central Asia in 2000 to improve the social and economic development of Central Asia with special attention to its high mountain societies. His Late Highness also welcomed and supported partnerships with leading universities across the world, and endowed programmes at Harvard, MIT and Brown.

Patron of the arts

His Late Highness was deeply engaged in the arts and cultural matters, and established programmes and initiatives to support architecture, music and conservation. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture – established in 1977, and with a prize fund of $1 million – is awarded every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, preservation and landscape architecture, while the Aga Khan Music Programme fosters the development of musical heritage in societies where Muslims have a significant presence. The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme supports the delivery of restoration and conservation projects and the creation of parks and gardens, such as the Al-Azhar Park in Cairo. Underlining his commitment to preserving Muslim heritage, in 2014 His Late Highness opened the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, home to over 1,000 masterpieces showcasing the arts of Muslim civilisations.

Titles and honours

In keeping with the recognition accorded to the previous three Aga Khans by the British monarchs, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted the title His Highness to Aga Khan IV in 1957. In acknowledgement of his exceptional contributions to human development and improving the social condition of societies globally, His Late Highness received distinctions of honour from France, Portugal, Kenya, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iran, India, Pakistan and Senegal. He received 44 international awards, including honorary Canadian citizenship and the UN Champion for Global Change Award, and was the recipient of 24 honorary degrees from leading institutions such as Cambridge, Harvard and McGill.

Transition to Aga Khan V

His Late Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV passed away in Lisbon on 4 February 2025, aged 88. On 5 February 2025, following the unsealing of the Will of His Late Highness, Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V was named the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. In that capacity, he has assumed the role of Chair of the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Development Network.