Aga Khan V
| Aga Khan V | |
|---|---|
| 50th Imam of Nizari Ismaili Islam | |
| Tenure | 4 February 2025 – present |
| Predecessor | Aga Khan IV |
| Born | Rahim Aga Khan 12 October 1971 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Spouse | |
| Issue |
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| Persian | رحیم آقا خان |
| Father | Aga Khan IV |
| Mother | Salimah Aga Khan |
| Religion | Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam |
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| Part of a series on Islam Isma'ilism |
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 Islam portal |
Prince Rahim Aga Khan (Persian: رحیم آقا خان; born 12 October 1971), known as the Aga Khan V (Persian: آقاخان پنجم), is the 50th Imam, or Hazar Imam, of the Shia Nizari Isma'ili Muslims. He is the second of the Aga Khan IV's four children. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, he has been actively involved for many years in the governance of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Early life and education
[edit]Prince Rahim Aga Khan was born on 12 October 1971, in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the eldest son and second oldest of three children born to the Aga Khan IV (Prince Karim Al-Husseini) and his first wife Princess Salimah Aga Khan (née Sarah Croker-Poole), a British former model.[1][2][3]
Rahim was educated in the United States, and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in comparative literature in 1995.[2][4][5] He later completed graduate studies in management and administration in Barcelona, Spain at the IESE Business School University of Navarra.[4][6]
In 2010, he established the Aga Khan Brown Workshop series at the Watson Institute.
Career
[edit]Prince Rahim has been actively involved in the governance of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), where he currently chairs the AKDN Environment and Climate Committee[7] and co-chairs AKDN's Budget Review Committees.
Prince Rahim sits on either the Board or Executive Committee for several of the AKDN's agencies and affiliated structures, namely the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, the Aga Khan University Foundation,[8] the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Development Network Foundation, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
Prince Rahim travels regularly to oversee programs and other projects of the Aga Khan Development Network.[9][10]
Following the death of the Aga Khan IV, on 4 February 2025, Prince Rahim was named the fifth Aga Khan and the 50th hereditary imam of Isma'ilism, as prescribed in his late father's will.[11]
Titles and honours
[edit]The titles Prince and Princess are used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Persian Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.[12]
Author Farhad Daftary wrote of how the honorific title Aga Khan (from Agha and Khan) was first given to Aga Khan I at the age of thirteen after the murder of his father: "At the same time, the Qajar monarch bestowed on him the honorific title (laqab) of Agha Khan (also transcribed as Aqa Khan), meaning lord and master." Daftary additionally commented, "The title of Agha Khan remained hereditary amongst his successors."[13]
Honours
[edit]
Personal life
[edit]Prince Rahim married Kendra Irene Spears on 31 August 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.[16] They have two children: Prince Irfan (b. 11 April 2015)[17] and Prince Sinan (b. 2 January 2017).[18] In 2019, he bought a house in Unstad in Vestvågøy Municipality, Norway.[19][20] The couple divorced in February 2022.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ Reporter, A. (9 October 2020). "AKDN, Prince William to launch environmental prize". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ a b Henley, Jon (5 February 2025). "Rahim al-Hussaini named as 50th Aga Khan after death of father". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ Khalip, Andrei (5 February 2025). "Aga Khan IV's son Rahim named Ismaili Muslims' new spiritual leader". Reuters.
- ^ a b Lusa (5 February 2025). "Rahim Aga Khan é o novo líder da comunidade ismailita". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ "Rahim Al-Hussaini is named the new Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims". AP News. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (5 February 2025). "El príncipe Rahim Aga Khan V nombrado el 50º líder espiritual de los ismaelitas". SWI swissinfo.ch (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ "AKDN Partners with Prince William to Launch Earthshot Prize". TOLOnews. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "University of Washington and Aga Khan University sign agreement to further population health, research, service and education". UW News. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "New Aga Khan Medical Centre Helps Strengthen Pakistan's Health System". PAMIR TIMES. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "Prince Rahim and Portuguese President meet in Lisbon | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "New Aga Khan named as Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini". BBC News. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ Edwards, Anne (1996). Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans, New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0-00-215196-0
- ^ Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-35561-5.
- ^ "Prince Rahim Agha Khan honoured with Pakistan's top civilian award". Daily Pakistan Global. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Prince Rahim Aga Khan conferred with 'Nishan-i-Pakistan' award". Dunya News. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "The wedding of Prince Rahim and Miss Kendra Salwa Spears". TheIsmaili.org. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "The Ismaili". 14 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Prince Sinan". the.Ismaili. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ Johansen, Bente H. (12 July 2020). "Prins Rahim Aga Khan kjøpte hus i Lofoten – nå skal det renoveres". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Prins får grønt lys for å renovere «surfebolig» i Lofoten". e24.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 12 July 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Die Liebe zwischen Prinz Rahim Aga Khan und Prinzessin Salwa ist zerbrochen". MSN (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- 1971 births
- Living people
- People from Geneva
- Noorani family
- Aga Khans
- 21st-century imams
- 21st-century Islamic religious leaders
- 21st-century Ismailis
- Iranian Ismailis
- Qajar dynasty
- Phillips Academy alumni
- Brown University alumni
- Swiss people of Iranian descent
- Swiss people of Italian descent
- Swiss people of English descent
- Pakistani Ismailis
- British Ismailis
- Aga Khan Development Network
- Recipients of the Nishan-e-Pakistan