Hussain Aga Khan

Prince Hussain Aga Khan (born 10 April 1974) is a nature photographer, and is the third child and second son of Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah Aga Khan.

Early life and education

He attended Deerfield Academy and subsequently Williams College, from which he graduated in 1997 with a dual degree in theatre and French literature. In 2004, he received a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, where his main area of study was Economic and Political Development with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa.

Nature and photography

Hussain has been a tropical fish hobbyist since the age of five and a reptile and amphibian enthusiast since he was 14, when he started scuba diving and developed an interest in conservation. He started travelling to the tropics frequently after secondary school and began taking photographs of fauna and flora on a trip to the Brazilian Amazon in 1996.

An assembly of his rainforest photographs from seven countries, entitled ''Rainforests'' and including statistics related to deforestation and biodiversity, appeared in three exhibits in the US in 2004.

His photographs, including those focused on rainforests, have been published in ''Animal Voyage'' in 2004 (a new edition was printed in 2007). Since 2009 his focus has mainly been on underwater photography, especially of turtles, sharks, whales and dolphins. His second book, ''Diving into Wildlife'' (2015) contains a selection of these images.

His work has been exhibited in Geneva (Switzerland), in Paris at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2007), at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco for the Blue Ocean Film Festival and for the 10-year anniversary of Prince Albert’s foundation (2015 and 2016 respectively), and at the IUCN ocean conference in Hawaii in 2016. His photography was shown at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi (2018) and his photography of ocean life was on display at the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon from 27 September to 29 December 2019, in an exhibition called "The Living Sea: Photographic Essay by Hussain Aga Khan".

COP 28 will take place in Dubai from 30 November until 12 December 2023. A marine photography exhibition by Prince Hussain Aga Khan will also be hosted at the Sustainability Pavilion. Called Fragile Beauty, all pictures celebrate the magic of the ocean and the need to protect every marine species. COP 28 DUBAI
Prince Hussain Aga Khan, Reem Al Hashimy go live at COP28 Green Zone on 8 December. Reem Al Hashimy delivers UAE's Statement at UN General Assembly. COP28 will host an enlightening discussion on 'Fragile Beauty,' showcasing marine photography by Prince Hussain Aga Khan.

Career

Hussain has been based in France and working with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Following completion of a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2004, Prince Hussain assumed additional responsibility at the Aga Khan Foundation for the conceptualisation of programmes on environmental issues.

Hussain is chair of the board of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, where he focuses mainly on disaster risk reduction and emergency management in Central Asia, Pakistan and India. He is on the board of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), and sits on the AKDN Committee, the oversight body of the Aga Khan Development Network. Involvement with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has centered on the management of the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Fund for the Environment. Hussain is a member of the Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECC) in order to work on environmental issues and the impact of climate change in some of AKDN’s priority countries.

Prince Hussain was given the key to the city of Sugar Land, Texas in 2007, and was made an Honorary Ambassador of the city of Edmonton in 2007.

Focused On Nature, the small conservation fund that Hussain established with Nazir Sunderji in 2014, has mainly supported the conservation of sharks, cetaceans, rainforests, African elephants and rhinoceroses.

Personal life

On 27 April 2006, the Prince announced his intention to marry Kristin J. White, an American whom he met in graduate school at Columbia. The intended bride, who has a master's degree in public health, converted to Islam and took the name Khaliya Aga Khan. Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya were married religiously on Saturday 16 September 2006, by Sayyed Mohammad Musawi at Château de Chantilly. Friday 15 September was the civil ceremony at their home in Aiglemont, France, by Mayor of Gouvieux, Patrice Marchand. Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya divorced in 2011.

In December 2018, the Aga Khan announced the engagement of Hussain and Elizabeth Hoag, a mental health counselor from Connecticut. The couple married in a private ceremony in Geneva on 27 September 2019, with Hoag adopting the name Fareen upon converting to Islam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aga Khan, Hussain
1974 births
Aga Khan Development Network
Living people
Deerfield Academy alumni
Williams College alumni
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni
Noorani family
Swiss people of Iranian descent
Swiss people of Italian descent
Swiss people of English descent