Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV (1936-2025): Cultural Globalist

His Highness was a global leader and someone who sought to bring beauty into the world. Whether through his support for music, art, and architecture or by restoring dignity and hope to millions, he understood that beauty was not an ornament of life but a vital source of inspiration and upliftment.—Luis Monreal, Director General, Aga Khan Trust for Culture

IT IS WITH a heavy heart that I write of the passing of His Highness (HH) at the age of 88. It is a loss to humanity and to the many millions of his commu­nity—the Isamilis—who reside across the world, to the almost 100,000 employed within the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in 30 countries, as well as to the many millions whose qual­ity of life was greatly improved by his generosity.

HH was the most remarkable philanthropist the modern world has witnessed. On the 25th an­niversary of India’s Independence, he gifted to the nation the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where the Mahatma was placed on house arrest and where his wife Kasturba had died. On the 50th anniversary of India’s Indepen­dence, in 1997, HH gifted the garden restoration at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb—in fulfilment of India’s commitment to UNESCO.

This gift, complete with citrus orchards and flowing water, immediately led to a 1,000 per cent increase in visitors at Humayun’s Tomb in 2002 itself. It has since seen over 25 million visitors. The gift was an obvious choice to HH who, since the 1980s, had been speaking of the possibility of cultural heritage serving as a means to improve quality of life for communities in historic cities. Today, the ‘built heritage’ world is catching up with his thoughts and learning from projects that AKTC has implemented in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kabul, Zanzibar, Cairo, Mali, Lahore, Edmonton, Toronto, Penang, among other cities.

In 2004, the Indian prime minister had requested the Aga Khan to support further cul­tural initiatives. Always responsive to requests from government, he had directed AKTC’s Luis Monreal to explore a multi-year project with the Archaeological Survey of India. To fit into AKTC’s objectives of coupling conservation efforts with socio-economic development as well as environmental restoration, AKTC proposed the Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative, spread across 300-plus acres in the heart of the national capital wherein we have since conserved 65 monu­ments, landscaped 200-plus acres and directly brought significant benefit to over 700,000 people.

Among the many moments I was left awed by HH, was when the proposed project was presented to three Indian ministers in 2005. I thought HH, committing years of efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars, would suggest we start small. Almost as if he had read my mind, he looked across at me and said, “This will be a great project of national significance, what is now being proposed must be completed in full and if anyone in the room had blinkers [me!] take them off now.” The rest is history.

As if the undertaking in Delhi wasn’t large enough, in 2013 HH also marched AKTC into Hyderabad with the commit­ment to conserve the 100 monuments, across 106 acres at the Qutub Shahi Tombs of Golconda. In July 2024, a museum was built at Humayun’s Tomb to enhance the visitor experience for the two million-plus annual visitors. AKDN does a lot more in India—rural development, health initiatives, numerous schools and educational initiatives, urban improvements, di­saster management—across eight states. HH was always aware of each initiative, nothing was too small.

His passing is a loss to humanity and it is his vision that we will strive to fulfil as we always have, safeguarding our beautiful past for the future.

Aga Khan IVconservationdeathHumayun’s TombIn MemoriamPrince Karim Al-Hussaini