The Aga Khan, leader of the Ismaili Muslims, head of a major development aid foundation and a notable supporter of Irish racing, has died aged 88, his foundation announced.
He was the founder and president of the Aga Khan Development Network, which employs 96,000 people and finances development programmes particularly in Asia and Africa.
He was also an owner of Shergar, the Derby-winning racehorse who was stolen from his stud farm in Co Kildare, in 1983 and never seen again.
Shergar was lionised in the racing world for the manner of his Epsom triumph under the teenage Walter Swinburn, and to this day his winning margin of 10 lengths stands as a record for a race first run in 1780.
The big bay with the white blaze had secured his position among the 20th-century greats by the time the curtain came down on his career at the end of the 1981 season.
He was syndicated for stud duties and arrived at Ballymany Stud.
When he was stolen, those involved were apparently unaware the Aga Khan was no longer the sole owner of the horse, and demands for a massive ransom payment came to nothing.
The Aga Khan was a notable supporter of Irish racing and one of the driving forces behind the redevelopment of the Curragh.
The Aga Khan Trophy is a renowned event on the Irish showjumping calendar, which takes place during the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS every summer. The trophy was donated by the Aga Khan's father, a regular visitor, in 1926.
Horsing Racing Ireland CEO Suzanne Eade said the Aga Khan was an "iconic figure in the global racing industry".
She said he made his mark in many countries with Ireland "playing a significant role in his family's renowned operation for over 100 years".
Read More: The Aga Khan and the mystery of mighty colt Shergar
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres described the Aga Khan as "a symbol of peace, tolerance and compassion in our troubled world" following the religious leader's death.
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace laureate and education campaigner, said his legacy will "live on through the incredible work he led for education, health and development around the world".
Islam 'religion of peace'
Born in Geneva, the Aga Khan spent his childhood in Kenya and was appointed in Tanzania to succeed his grandfather in 1957.
His father was passed over in the line of succession after a tumultuous marriage to American actor Rita Hayworth.
A billionaire owner of yachts and jets, the Aga Khan was a regular on the racetrack and continued the family tradition of breeding thoroughbreds.
He also ploughed a large amount of his inherited wealth into philanthropic projects and was awarded honorary Canadian citizenship for his work on development and "tolerance around the world".
The Aga Khan also held British and Portuguese citizenship. The Ismaili leadership is based in Lisbon, where there is a significant community.
Despite his role as the spiritual head of the Ismaili Muslims, he was reluctant to discuss Middle East conflicts, religious fundamentalism or Sunni-Shia tensions.
Islam is not a faith "of conflict or social disorder, it's a religion of peace," he told AFP in 2017.
It is used in situations which are "essentially political, but which are presented, for various reasons, in a theological context. This is simply not correct," he said.
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Additional reporting by PA
