Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini (Prince Rahim Aga Khan) has been named next hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims on Wednesday following the unsealing of his father Prince Karim Aga Khan IV’s will, the Aga Khan Development Network said in a statement from Lisbon.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan’s father, known for his wealth and development work around the world, died in Lisbon, the seat of the Ismaili Imamat, at the age of 88 on Tuesday.
Born on Oct. 12, 1971, Prince Rahim Aga Khan is the eldest son of the late Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah – née Sarah Croker Poole. The couple had a daughter and two sons.
Prince Rahim Agha Khan serves on the boards of many agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, and has closely followed the work of the Institute of Ismaili Studies and the Ismaili community’s social governance institutions, serving as chairman of the AKDN’s Environment and Climate Committee.
The world’s Ismaili community comprises around 15 million members who live in Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and North America.