Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Mirza Tahir Ahmad
Caliph of the Messiah Amir al-Mu'minin
Khalifatul Masih IV in 2000 in the UK
Reign	10 June 1982 – 19 April 2003
Predecessor	Mirza Nasir Ahmad
Successor	Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Born	(1928-12-18)18 December 1928 Qadian, Punjab, British India
Died	19 April 2003(2003-04-19) (aged 74) London, England
Burial	Islamabad in Tilford, England
Spouse	Syeda Asifa Begum (m. 1957–1992)
Issue	4
Full name Mirza Tahir Ahmad مرزا طاہر احمد
Father	Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mother	Syeda Maryam Begum

Mirza Tahir Ahmad (Urdu: مرزا طاہر احمد‎‎) (18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was Khalifatul Masih IV (Arabic: خليفة المسيح الرابع‎‎, khalīfatul masīh al-rābi) and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 10 June 1982, the day after the death of his predecessor, Mirza Nasir Ahmad.

Following the Ordinance XX that was promulgated by the government of Pakistan in 1984, which prohibited Ahmadi Muslims from any public expression of the Islamic faith, Tahir Ahmad left Pakistan and migrated to London, England, provisionally moving the headquarters of the community to the Fazl Mosque in London. He is noted particularly for his question and answer sessions which he held regularly with people from around the world and for his Qur'anic discourses. Under his leadership, there was an acceleration in the number of Quran translations produced by the community; and during his caliphate, the community experienced structural and financial growth on an international level, including the launch of the first Muslim satellite television network, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya in 1994 through which he could communicate televised messages to the community globally and have his sermons and other public engagements transmitted throughout the world through this medium.