Biography of Karim Aga Khan IV.

Karim Aga Khan IV (born Karim al-Hussaini on 13 December 1936 in Geneva; died 4 February 2025 in Lisbon) was the 49th hereditary Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims. For his community he was a spiritual leader; internationally he was also known as a philanthropist, founder, entrepreneur and creator of the Aga Khan Development Network. His life connected religious authority, great personal wealth and a wide-reaching development network.

Origins and appointment

Karim al-Hussaini was born in Geneva and spent parts of his childhood in Kenya. He came from a family whose religious leadership is understood as hereditary in the Ismaili tradition. On 11 July 1957 he succeeded his grandfather, Aga Khan III, as Imam. He was still a student at Harvard at the time. The decision skipped the generation of his father, Aly Khan, and made the young Karim a religious leader for a widely dispersed community.

Imamat and pluralism

As Imam, Aga Khan IV connected religious leadership with the aim of promoting education, social development and cultural openness. He often spoke about pluralism, responsibility and the compatibility of faith with the modern world. For Ismailis, his role was not only organizational, but spiritual. At the same time, he moved in international political, economic and cultural circles and maintained relationships with governments, universities and foundations.

Aga Khan Development Network

His name is especially connected with the Aga Khan Development Network. The network became a large group of institutions in health, education, culture, microfinance, rural development and architecture. It worked in many countries in Africa, Asia and Europe and served not only Ismailis, but wider populations. Its best-known initiatives included the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and programs for restoring historic places.

Wealth and public perception

Aga Khan IV lived with visible privilege: horse breeding, real estate, social connections and a lifestyle that was regularly described in public. This side belonged to his public perception just as much as his development work. That is part of what made his figure unusual: a religious Imam without territorial rule, a very wealthy philanthropist and an actor who connected private resources, institutional networks and international diplomacy.

Death and succession

Aga Khan IV died in Lisbon on 4 February 2025. The next day his son Rahim al-Hussaini was named Aga Khan V and 50th Imam. For the Ismaili community, this ended an Imamat of almost 68 years. His influence remains connected with a form of religious leadership that thought of spirituality, education, culture and social development together.