LAHORE: Prince Karim Al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili community and known for his development work around the world, has died in Lisbon at the age of 88, according to the Aga Khan Development Network on X.
The announcement of his designated successor will follow, the network said.
The 49th hereditary imam or spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismailis, his name also became synonymous with success as a racehorse owner, with the thoroughbred Shergar among his most famous.
The international jet setter — who held British, French, Swiss and Portuguese citizenship — poured millions into helping people in the poorest parts of the world.
“If you travel the developing world, you see poverty is the driver of tragic despair, and there is the possibility that any means out will be taken,” he told the New York Times in a rare interview in 2007.
By assisting the poor through business, he told the newspaper, “we are developing protection against extremism”.
Condolences poured in soon after the Aga Khan’s death, with global leaders remembering his humanitarian efforts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he joined the Ismaili community in mourning the “colossal loss from the passing away of Prince Karim Aga Khan”.
“A man of vision, faith, and generosity, his enduring legacy will continue to inspire generations. His contributions transcended borders, bringing hope and progress to communities in need,” PM Shehbaz said on X.
Calling him a remarkable leader, the premier noted: “Through his tireless efforts in poverty alleviation, healthcare, and gender equality, he championed the cause of the marginalised, leaving an indelible mark on countless lives.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed his sorrow, his ministry said on X. “Services of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan for social sectors are unforgettable,” he was quoted as saying.
Naqvi highlighted his “significant contributions in the fields of education and health in Pakistan”, adding: “The world has lost a compassionate figure.”
Deputy PM Ishaq Dar also expressed his condolences on X, stating he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
Dar said the Aga Khan’s “unwavering dedication to philanthropy and the betterment of communities worldwide has left an indelible mark on the world”. “His special attachment to Pakistan and his matchless contribution to the development and progress of its people can never be forgotten.
“Pakistan mourns his loss and cherishes his inspiring legacy,” the deputy PM said.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari shared a picture of himself with Prince Karim Al-Husseini, calling him a “remarkable visionary, a leader and humanitarian whose dedication to improving lives knew no boundaries”.
“His legacy of service, wisdom, and compassion will continue to guide and inspire generations. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the Ismaili community around the world,” the former foreign minister wrote.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted on X that he was deeply saddened by the news.
“He was a symbol of peace, tolerance and compassion in our troubled world,” the UN chief wrote, conveying his condolences to the Aga Khan’s family and the Ismaili community.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighted that the Aga Khan “devoted his life to peace and prosperity for all”.
“He worked across continents and cultures to resolve the world’s greatest humanitarian challenges: poverty, education, and gender inequality. He was an extraordinary man of vision, faith, and generosity, and I know his legacy will live on through the many lives he touched,” Trudeau wrote.
Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai said Prince Karim Al-Husseini’s “legacy will continue to live on through the incredible work he led for education, health and development around the world”.
Various other leaders from Canada also expressed their grief, including ex-PM Stephen Harper, former foreign minister John Baird, and New Democrat Party leader Jagmeet Singh.
Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto remembered the Aga Khan as “an extraordinary leader who went beyond what seemed impossible to help the vulnerable”.
Prince Shah Karim Al-Husseini was born on Dec 13, 1936 in Geneva and spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya.
He later returned to Switzerland, attending the exclusive Le Rosey School before going to the United States to study Islamic history at Harvard.
When his grandfather Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan died in 1957, he became the imam of the Ismailis at the age of 20.
As Aga Khan — derived from Turkish and Persian words to mean commanding chief — he was the fourth holder of the title which was originally granted in the 1830s by the emperor of Persia to Karim’s great-great-grandfather when the latter married the emperor’s daughter.
The role included providing divine guidance for the Ismaili community, whose members live in Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and North America.
After his father died in May 1960, the Aga Khan initially pondered whether to continue his family’s long tradition of thoroughbred racing and breeding.
But after winning the French owners’ championship in his first season he was hooked.
“I have come to love it,” he said in a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair. “It’s so exciting, a constant challenge. Every time you sit down and breed you are playing a game of chess with nature.”
His stables and riders, wearing his emerald-green silk livery, enjoyed great successes with horses like Sea the Stars, which won the Epsom Derby and the 2,000 Guineas; and Sinndar, which also won the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in the same year, 2000.
But perhaps his most famous horse was Shergar, which won the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the King George, before being kidnapped in February 1983 from Ireland’s Ballymany stud farm.
A ransom demand was made, with the mafia, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the IRA all suggested as suspects. No money was paid, and no trace of the horse was ever found.
The Aga Khan set up the Aga Khan Development Network in 1967. The group of international development agencies employs 80,000 people helping to build schools and hospitals and providing electricity for millions of people in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia.
He mixed his development work with private business, owning for example in Uganda a pharmaceutical company, a bank and a fishnet factory.
“Few persons bridge so many divides — between the spiritual and the material; East and West; Muslim and Christian — as gracefully as he does,” Vanity Fair wrote in its 2013 article.
He was married twice, first in 1969 to former British model Sarah Croker Poole, with whom he had a daughter and two sons. The couple divorced in 1995.
In 1998 he married German-born Gabriele zu Leiningen, with whom he had a son. The couple divorced in 2014.
