The Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, died at 88 in Portugal. He became an imam at age 20. He led the Aga Khan Development Network, improving health, education, and livelihoods in 30 countries.
He is well known for building bridges between Muslim societies and the West. Prince Karim Aga Khan was the 49th hereditary imam of the Ismaili Muslims.
He succeeded his grandfather as imam of the Ismaili Muslims in 1957 at the age of 20. Over decades, the Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly with ease.
The Aga Khan will be buried in Lisbon. His successor, named in his will, will be announced soon in the presence of his family and religious leaders in Lisbon before the name is made public. He is survived by three sons, a daughter, and grandchildren.
Khan died on Tuesday in Portugal, surrounded by family, according to a statement from the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community.
His burial will take place in Lisbon. His successor has been named in his will, which will be read in the presence of family and religious leaders before the name is made public.
Aga Khan IV was born on 13 December 1936 in Creux-de-Genthod, Switzerland, and became the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims in 1957 at the age of 20 while he was an undergraduate at Harvard University. His grandfather, Aga Khan III, chose him over his father, Aly Khan, saying that the community should be led by someone “who has been brought up in the midst of the new age.”