HAZRAT MIRZA TAHIR AHMAD(rh) was born in Qadian, India, in 1928 to Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra) and Hazrat Maryam Begum(ra). He received his early schooling in Qadian. After graduating from the Ahmadiyya Missionary College, Rabwah with distinction, he obtained an honours degree in Arabic from Punjab University.

In 1955, he visited England for the first time with his father, who suggested that he remain behind to improve his knowledge of the English language and European social habits. He secured admission at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he remained for two-and-a-half years. By the end of 1957, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(rh) had seen most of Western Europe. He travelled extensively in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

The experience that he gained during these years would play a crucial role later in his life, when administering his great responsibilities as Khalifatul-Masih IV, the fourth Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at. He was elected to this office in 1982, one day after the demise of his predecessor, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad(rh).

The anti-Ahmadiyya ordinance of April 1984, promulgated by General Zia-ul-Haq, compelled Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(rh) to leave Pakistan. He decided to migrate to England, where he established his transitory base in exile. Of all his achievements in England, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) International is one of the greatest. Through MTA International, numerous educational programs are televised twenty-four hours a day. His activities after his departure from Pakistan helped proliferate and spread the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at to more than 150 countries of the world.

Apart from being a religious leader, he was also a homeopathic physician, a prolific writer, a gifted poet, and a sportsman.

Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(rh) passed away on April 19, 2003, at the age of 74. He is succeeded by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad [may Allah be his help], the present Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at.