| Zahra Aga Khan | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 18 September 1970 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Spouse | Mark Boyden (m. 1997;div. 2005) |
| Issue |
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| Father | Aga Khan IV |
| Mother | Salimah Aga Khan |
| Religion | Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam |
| Occupation | Philanthropist |
Princess Zahra Aga Khan (born 18 September 1970) is the eldest child of Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah Aga Khan.
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Princess Zahra attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland and received her undergraduate degree cum laude in Development Studies from Harvard University (AB’94). [1] She also completed a four-month program at Massachusetts General Hospital to enhance her understanding of healthcare systems and the delivery of advanced medical care, and an Executive Finance course at IMD in Lausanne.
Princess Zahra Aga Khan is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and also sits on the board of several of its affiliated structures, including the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance and the Aga Khan Schools. She also serves as a Trustee of the Aga Khan University. [2]
She has policy and management responsibility for the Health, Education, and Planning and Building Services Companies of the AKDN and their institutions.[ citation needed ]
Princess Zahra is a board member of the Global Centre for Pluralism, [3] sits in the France Galop Committee [4] and serves as the President of the Consiglio Direttivo of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. [5]
She married British businessman and former model Mark Boyden, an Anglican, in a civil ceremony on 21 June 1997. The wedding was held at the Château de Chantilly near Paris, [6] in the presence of guests including King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain, and Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. The couple divorced in 2005.[ citation needed ]
Princess Zahra and Mark Boyden have a daughter, Sara, and a son, Iliyan.[ citation needed ]
Like her father, Princess Zahra is a fan of thoroughbred racing and has begun racing horses in her own name, the owner-breeder of the Prix Vermeille winner Mandesha. [7] She was invited to ride in the King's procession at Royal Ascot 2023. [8]
On October 10, 2019, the Roy M. Huffington Award was presented to Princess Zahra by the Asia Society Texas Center. The Award recognizes leaders who have been a major force on the international stage. [9]
Prince Karim Al-Husseini, known as the Aga Khan IV since the death of his grandfather in 1957, is the 49th and current imam of Nizari Isma'ilis. He has held the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan since 11 July 1957 when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, who is considered an Imam by Nizari Isma'ilis, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage. Aga Khan IV is also known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Isma'ili followers.
Nizari Isma'ilism are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent reasoning or ijtihad; pluralism—the acceptance of racial, ethnic, cultural and inter-religious differences; and social justice. Nizaris, along with Twelvers, adhere to the Jaʽfari school of jurisprudence. The Aga Khan, currently Aga Khan IV, is the spiritual leader and Imam of the Nizaris. The global seat of the Ismaili Imamate is in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, with the primary focus of improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa.
Aga Khan University is a not-for-profit institution and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. It was founded in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university. Starting in 2000, the university expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan 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).
Prince Hussain Aga Khan is a nature photographer, third child, and second son of Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah Aga Khan.
Salimah Aga Khan, also known as Begum Salimah Aga Khan, is a former fashion model and an ex-wife of the 49th Ismaili Shia Imam and 4th Aga Khan, Prince Karim Aga Khan.
Inaara Aga Khan, formerly Begum Inaara Aga Khan, also previously known as Princess Inaara Aga Khan, was the second wife of the Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Nizari branch of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims; from May 1998 to March 2014, she held the title Begum Aga Khan.
Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) is one of the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) supporting activities in the field of education. The others are the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), the Aga Khan University (AKU), the University of Central Asia (UCA), and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
The Global Centre for Pluralism is an international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist societies. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the Centre seeks to assist the creation of successful societies.
Destriero was a 67-metre (220 ft) long, 13-metre (43 ft) wide, 400-ton displacement, yacht built by Fincantieri in their Muggiano yard at La Spezia in 1991. She was fitted with three GE Aviation LM1600 gas turbines totalling 60,000-horsepower (45,000 kW), providing her with a maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour. Destriero was built with the sponsorship of the Aga Khan IV and others specifically to cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time of 3 days and secure the Blue Riband.
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was established by the Aga Khan in 1967. It is situated at Porto Cervo in Costa Smeralda, northern Sardinia and provides services for recreational sailors.
Princess Salwa Aga Khan is an American former fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2008, participating in the Ford Models Supermodel of the World and walking in New York Fashion Week. She has walked the runway for Gucci, Christian Lacroix, Lanvin, Hermès, and Valentino. Salwa has appeared on the covers of Amica, Cover Magazine, Vogue China, Vogue Japan, Vogue Germany, Vogue México y Latinoamérica, Elle, Allure, and Numero and in editorials in Dazed & Confused, V, and Vogue Italia. She has been the face of Prada, Armani's Code Fragrance, and Moschino's Pink Bouquet fragrance and modelled in advertisement campaigns for Calvin Klein, Etro, Diane von Fürstenberg, Peek & Cloppenburg, The Limited.
Naguib Kheraj is a British banker.
Shamsh Kassim-Lakha' is a Pakistani businessman, politician, and educational leader. He led the planning, building, and operation of the University of Central Asia (UCA), a regional institution founded by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and His Highness the Aga Khan with campuses in the mountain areas of the three countries. He was the Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2014-2017. He is currently Senior Advisor, Aga Khan Foundation Canada, in which capacity he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia and advises the Foundation on its work in Central and South Asia as well as Eastern Africa.
Aga Khan University Hospital, Kampala, is a hospital under construction in Uganda. It is an urban, tertiary, referral and teaching hospital whose planned construction will last five years, starting in 2020. It will be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of 150 beds at an estimated cost of US$100 million. The bed capacity will be increased to 600 during the second phase.
The University of Central Asia (UCA) (Russian: Университет Центральной Азии) is a secular, non-profit, research university in Central Asia. It was founded by an international charter between the governments of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in 2000. UCA's first undergraduate campus opened in 2016 in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, and was followed by a second campus in Khorog, Tajikistan (2017). The University has three schools: School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), Graduate School of Development (GSD) and School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE). The School of Arts and Sciences offers four undergraduate programmes on its two campuses. A third campus in Tekeli, Kazakhstan is currently in the planning phase.
Prince Amyn Muhammad Aga Khan is the brother of Aga Khan IV, Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili sect of Shia Islam. He is the son of Prince Aly Khan and Princess Tajuddawlah Aga Khan.
The Noorani family is a term used to refer to the immediate family of the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shia Muslims, commonly known by the title of Aga Khan. By convention and custom its members and descendants in the male line are titled Prince and Princess, and as such it can be regarded as a royal family, although only the Aga Khan himself, as its head, is entitled to be referred to by the style of His Highness. The style of His Highness was formally granted to the Aga Khan IV by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 upon the death of his grandfather the Aga Khan III.