Sir Timothy Alan Davan Sainsbury (born 11 June 1932) is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician and businessman in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Early life

Sainsbury is the youngest son of

Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury Alan John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury (13 August 1902 – 21 October 1998), was a British business executive and a leading member of the supermarket Sainsbury family. Early and private life Sainsbury was the son of Mabel Miriam ( Van den Bergh) a ...

, and his wife Doreen. His elder brothers are

Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, (2 November 1927 – 14 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. He served as the President of Sainsbury's, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer and member of th ...

, a former Chairman of

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

, and the late

Simon Sainsbury Simon David Davan Sainsbury (1 March 1930 – 27 September 2006) was a British businessman, philanthropist and art collector. Early life Sainsbury was born in London,Lord Sainsbury of Turville David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, , raeng.org.uk. Accessed 8 September 2022. (24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of Sainsbury's, the supermarket c ...

, a former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Minister for Science, is a cousin. His great-grandparents,

John James Sainsbury John James Sainsbury (12 June 1844 – 3 January 1928) was an English grocer and founder of what is now called the Sainsbury's supermarket chain. Early and private life John James Sainsbury was born on 12 June 1844 at 5 Oakley Street, Lambe ...

and

Mary Ann Staples Mary Ann Sainsbury (''née'' Staples; 30 June 1849 – 9 June 1927) was the wife of John James Sainsbury, the founder of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain. The supermarket chain named their official brand font 'Mary-Ann', used in-store, onl ...

, established a grocer's at 173

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

in 1869, which became the British

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

chain

Education

Sainsbury was educated at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

Business career

Tim Sainsbury joined

Sainsbury’s J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

in 1956. In 1959 he became deputy to Fred Salisbury (the first non-Sainsbury director of the company). He was appointed Director of Estates, Architects and Engineers in 1962. In this role he was in charge of converting all the remaining counter service shops to self-service, and modernising the earlier self-service shops. When the Company listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

on 12 July 1973, as J Sainsbury plc, his family at the time kept control with an 85% stake. Whilst his cousin,

David Sainsbury David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, , raeng.org.uk. Accessed 8 September 2022. (24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of Sainsbury's, the supermarket c ...

, inherited his father

Robert Sainsbury Sir Robert James Sainsbury (24 October 19062 April 2000), was the son of John Benjamin Sainsbury (the eldest son of John James Sainsbury, the founder of Sainsbury's supermarkets) and along with his wife Lisa began the collection of modern and t ...

's entire 18% shareholding, Tim Sainsbury had to split his father Alan Sainsbury's 18% stake with his brothers

JD Sainsbury John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, (2 November 1927 – 14 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. He served as the President of Sainsbury's, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer and member of th ...

and

Simon Sainsbury Simon David Davan Sainsbury (1 March 1930 – 27 September 2006) was a British businessman, philanthropist and art collector. Early life Sainsbury was born in London,JD Sainsbury John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, (2 November 1927 – 14 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. He served as the President of Sainsbury's, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer and member of th ...

retired and was succeeded as chairman and chief executive by his cousin,

. Tesco overtook Sainsbury's to become the UK's largest supermarket chain in 1995. As a result, it is believed that JD Sainsbury asked Tim to re-join Sainsbury's as a non-executive director in 1995 to support David. David stepped down in 1998 to pursue a career in politics, and in 1999, Tim stepped down as non-executive director, meaning no member of the

Sainsbury family The Sainsbury family (also Lord Sainsbury and family and incorrectly the Sainsbury's family) founded Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket chain. Today, the family has many interests, including business, politics, philanthropy, arts, and ...

now works for the Company. At the time he vowed "to remain a major and committed shareholder." On 13 January 2006, the company was notified that Sir Timothy Sainsbury no longer has a notifiable interest in the company's issued share capital, such interest now being below 3%. His wife, who had held the other half of his 6% stake, dropped her interest in Sainsbury's below 3% the previous week. As of August 2009, Tim Sainsbury together with his wife were still thought to own just under 3% of the retailer. The

as a whole control approximately 15% of Sainsbury's. In the

Sunday Times Rich List 2008 The ''Sunday Times'' Rich List 2008 was published on 27 April 2008. Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' (sister paper to ''The Times'') has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the ''Sunda ...

his family fortune was estimated at £1.3 billion.

Political career

Sainsbury was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

from 1973 to 1997, and served as a junior minister, holding a number of Ministerial posts in the previous Conservative administration including those of

Minister of State for Trade The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...

(1990–92) and Minister for Industry (1992–94). He was President of the Hove Conservative Association from 1998 until 2002 and was President of the

Conservative Friends of Israel Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) is a British parliamentary group affiliated to the Conservative Party, which is dedicated to strengthening business, cultural and political ties between the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as between the Br ...

from 1997 until 2005. He is a Patron of the

Tory Reform Group The Tory Reform Group (TRG) is a pressure group associated with the British Conservative Party that works to promote "modern, progressive Conservatism... economic efficiency and social justice" and "a Conservatism that supports equality, divers ...

. In 2019 he announced his intention to vote Liberal Democrat at the general election.

Charitable works

Sainsbury and his two brothers funded an extension to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

at a cost of around £50 million, which opened in 1991 as the

Sainsbury Wing The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

. He was Chairman of the Somerset House Trust from 1997 until 2002, and was president of a £25m campaign for

. He was appointed as a trustee of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

on 17 December 2003 and was re-appointed on 17 December 2007. Tim Sainsbury is Chairman of the V&A's International Council, which aims to secure major donations for the FuturePlan.

Family

He has two daughters, Camilla (born 1962) and Jessica (born 1970), and two sons, James (born 1962) and Alexander (born 1968). Camilla was married until late 2015 to

Shaun Woodward Shaun Anthony Woodward (born 26 October 1958) is a British politician who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens South from 2001 to 2015. He served in the cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for North ...

(an MP who defected from the Conservative Party to

). Jessica is married to

Peter Frankopan Peter Frankopan (born 22 March 1971) is a British historian, writer, and hotelier. Early life and education Frankopan is the second of five children born to Yugoslav-born Croatian Louis Doimi de Frankopan (1939–2018) and Swedish-born barris ...

Honours

* In 1992 he was appointed a Member of the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...

, giving him the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

title "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

". * In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

list he was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. This entitles him to be referred to as "Sir Timothy Sainsbury".

References

The Sainsbury Archive: Tim Sainsbury

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, Timothy Alan Davan, Sir 1932 births Living people English people of Dutch-Jewish descent Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People educated at Sandroyd School

Tim Sainsbury Sir Timothy Alan Davan Sainsbury (born 11 June 1932) is a Conservative politician and businessman in the United Kingdom. Early life Sainsbury is the youngest son of Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury, and his wife Doreen. His elder brothers are L ...

UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods Jewish British politicians Politicians from Brighton and Hove Sons of life peers