His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V
His Highness Prince Rahim Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. V is the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, and the Chair of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS).
He is the eldest son of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan and succeeded his father in accordance with historical Shia Imami Ismaili tradition on 4 February 2025.
His Highness was educated at Phillips Academy Andover and graduated in 1995 from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature. He has two sons: Prince Irfan (b. 2015) and Prince Sinan (b. 2017).
His Highness worked closely with his late father for over three decades, serving on the boards of many agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDNThe Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the ethics and social conscience of Islam through institutional action. More). Prior to assuming his role as Chair of the IIS, His Highness has closely followed The Institute’s work through his participation at IIS board meetings and programmes. He delivered the Commencement Address at the IIS Graduation Ceremony in 2007 at the Ismaili Centre in London and attended the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of the IIS in 2017. More recently, in January 2023, he joined The Institute’s Board of Governors, faculty, staff and students at a special occasion to mark the retirement of Dr Farhad Daftary from his management role.
His Highness has been particularly concerned with AKDN’s drive to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. He has also given sustained attention to the work of AKDN and the Ismaili community institutions in addressing the needs of those living in the greatest poverty and supporting the improvement of their livelihoods through education, training and enterprise.
His Highness meets regularly with leaders of government, international organisations, and civil society to strengthen their relations with the Ismaili Imamat and to advance AKDN’s efforts to improve the lives of marginalised and vulnerable communities.