David Alliance, Baron Alliance, (, ; born 15 June 1932) is an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

businessman and Liberal Democrat politician.

Personal

David (originally Davoud) Alliance was born in

Kashan Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Earlies ...

, to a Jewish family and was educated at the Etahad School, Iran. He began his career in the bazaars of Iran at the age of fourteen and, by the age of eighteen, moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He has three children and seven grandchildren and now lives in

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Honours

Alliance was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

and in the

1989 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1989 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, the honour being bestowed 9 February 1989. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as ''Baron Alliance, of

in the County of Greater Manchester'', on 1 July 2004, and sat on the Liberal Democrat benches until his retirement on 21 March 2025.

Career

He owns 33% and is chairman of N Brown Group plc, a clothing catalog retailer. He was also the joint founder with Sir Harry Djanogly of Coats Viyella plc (now

Coats Group plc Coats Group plc is a British multinational company. The company provides products, including apparel, accessory and footwear threads, structural components for footwear and accessories, fabrics, yarns, and software applications. Coats is listed ...

), operating in 67 countries with 22% global market share, employing 70,000 people. Share sales, a valuable art collection and some small private firms account for the remainder of the family fortune. Alliance and Djanogly turned Coats Viyella into a £2bn textile business. Alliance is also one of the primary investors of the web measurement company SimilarWeb. Lord Alliance serves on several committees, including the Prince's Youth Business Trust,

Council for Industry and Higher Education A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

, and the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Foundation, and the

Weizmann Institute The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

. He is a senior trustee of the Next Century Foundation. He serves on the Board of Governors of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Lord Alliance holds a Doctorate of Science at

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

and a Legum Doctor (Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa) from the

. He used to be an Honorary Fellow of

UMIST The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

as there is no UMIST anymore after the merger. Alliance received an Honorary Doctorate from

in 1991. Between 1984 and 1991, Lord Alliance was instrumental in the rescue of the Ethiopian Jews out of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

by bringing them to Israel.

Wealth

In the '' Sunday Times Rich List 2015'' ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, he was placed with an estimated fortune of £3.1 billion. Since his elevation to the peerage in 2004, he has given the Liberal Democrats £668,872 in donations, plus an additional £20,996.56 in notional interest on loans he has made to the party.Electoral Commission register of donors – http://registers.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regdpoliticalparties.cfm?ec= Lord Alliance owns a home in

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...

, Manchester and a mock-Georgian mansion in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

, an affluent area of northwest London. He also owns a collection of Lowry paintings. In 2012,

established an

Iranian Studies Iranian studies ( '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field ...

Center, named after Lord Alliance. In September 2015,

Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. It is one of the oldest business schools in the UK, and provides education to undergraduates, postgraduates and e ...

was renamed in

Alliance Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. It is one of the oldest business schools in the UK, and provides education to undergraduates, postgraduates and e ...

(AMBS) in honor of Alliance, which has had a long-standing association with the school and wider university. AMBS's head, Fiona Devine, said, "The donation made by Lord Alliance and the Alliance Family Foundation will support the biggest transformation the school has seen since it was established some 50 years ago."

Autobiography

Alliance's autobiography, ''A Bazaar Life'' (co-written with Ivan Fallon), was published in 2015.

Arms

References

External links

Lord Alliance
Liberal Democrats profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance, David 1932 births Living people 20th-century Iranian Jews 21st-century Iranian Jews 20th-century British businesspeople 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British autobiographers People from Kashan British philanthropists British textile industry businesspeople British people of Iranian-Jewish descent Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Iranian philanthropists Jewish British philanthropists Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Tel Aviv University people Jewish British politicians Knights Bachelor British billionaires Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Businesspeople awarded knighthoods