It was a small group clinging to the belief that the failure of governments to come to terms

It was a small group, clinging to the belief that the failure of governments to come to terms with the harsh realities of the times was relevant to the use – or the non-use – of the United Nations. For years internationalism was unfashionable and unpopular but it was to this cause that Sadruddin, who was born to great wealth and privilege, devoted his energy. In the tragic story of international co-operation, Sadruddin had a hero’s role. Sadruddin Aga Khan, diplomat: born Paris 17 January 1933; Head of Mission and Adviser to the High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations 1959-60, Deputy High Commisioner for Refugees 1962-65, High Commissioner 1965-77, Consultant and Charg?e Mission to the Secretary-General 1978-2003; Unesco Special Consultant to Director-General 1961; Executive Secretary, International Action Committee for Preservation of Nubian Monuments 1961; KBE 2002; married 1972 Catherine Aleya Sursock; died Boston, Massachusetts 12 May 2003.

Sadruddin fulfilled his father’s dreams; it is not often remembered that the Aga Khan, a fabulously rich playboy with a string of palaces and racehorses, was in 1937 President of the General Assembly of the League of Nations, where for five years he represented India. In spite of diplomatic ambitions, the Aga Khan remained known for his exploits with women; father and son both possessed considerable charm.Sadruddin was born in 1933 in the American hospital at Neuilly on the outskirts of Paris. He was educated in Lausanne and then Harvard; he was a reserved child who became a studious teenager and he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1958.That year he was first exposed to practical internationalism when he was appointed Special Consultant to Unesco and he was quickly asked to help set up a major project to preserve the Nubian Monuments in north-east Africa. These early and exciting years with Unesco convinced him of the rightness of the international cause and he sought greater challenge.

He was soon recruited by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) His rise was meteoric. Within three years and at the young age of 32 Sadruddin was appointed by member governments to head the agency and it was thanks to him that it became one of the most effective in the system.He was a popular man and a rarity among agency directors – he was trusted by his international staff. Unlike some others in the international hierarchy, he was not prey to the pressure and blackmail of governments. In the 12 years at UNHCR he became a world expert in disaster management – an expertise which demanded an ability to overcome the many and tremendous weaknesses which are inherent within international organisations, including the politicisation of the agencies, creeping bureaucratisation, insufficient experts and, the most debilitating of all, insecure funding.He was ambitious.