Israel Moses Sieff, Baron Sieff (4 May 1889 – 14 February 1972) was an English businessman and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

who was chairman of the British retailer

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

from 1964 to 1967.

Early life and education

He was born in

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 ...

, the son of Ephraim Sieff and Sarah Saffer. His father, an immigrant from

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, founded a prosperous textile business in Manchester. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

alongside

Simon Marks Simon Marks, 1st Baron Marks of Broughton (9 July 1888 – 8 December 1964), was an English retail businessman and baron, the son of Michael Marks, the co-founder of major British multinational company Marks & Spencer. Biography Early life Ma ...

, son of Marks & Spencer co-founder Michael Marks. For 63 years, he and Marks shared a close friendship that was cemented when each married the other's sister. He earned a degree in commerce at 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 ...

. Sieff joined Simon Marks in Marks & Spencer in 1915 while also maintaining an interest in the Sieff family business. In 1926, when Marks & Spencer became a public company, Sieff joined Simon Marks full-time as vice-chairman and joint managing director. In the early 1930s, Sieff went to the United States and spent several weeks in the merchandise development of

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

to gain practical knowledge to improve the company. When Simon Marks died in December 1964, Sieff became the chairman and joint managing director of the company. On 18 January 1966, 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 Sieff, of

Brimpton Brimpton is a mostly rural village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. Brimpton is centred ESE of the town of Newbury. Toponymy One suggested origin of the name of Brimpton comes from "Brynni's Town"; Brynni was an Anglo-Saxon o ...

in the Royal County of Berks. Following Lord Sieff's death, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' recalled Sieff's approach to business: In 1918, Sieff was a member of the

Zionist Commission Zionist Commission for Palestine was a commission chaired by Chaim Weizmann, president of the British Zionist Federation following British promulgation of the pro-Zionist, Balfour Declaration. The Commission was formed in March 1918 and went to ...

which visited

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

under the leadership of

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

. Sieff was president of the

Political and Economic Planning Political and Economic Planning (PEP) was a British policy think tank, formed in 1931 in response to Max Nicholson's article ''A National Plan for Britain'' published in February of that year in Gerald Barry's magazine ''The Week-End Review''. Hi ...

think-tank from its foundation in 1931 and its chairman until 1939.

Marriage and family

In 1910, he married Rebecca Marks . His wife was the President of

WIZO The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. Histor ...

for most of her life. They had three sons and a daughter: *Hon. Michael David Sieff (1911–1987) * Marcus Sieff, Baron Sieff of Brimpton (1913–2001) *Daniel Sieff (1915–1932) *Judith Hannah Sieff (1921–1999) The death of their son Daniel, who intended to be a scientist, at age 17 led Sieff — and with the financial support of his business partners and relatives by marriage, the Marks and Sacher families — to endow the 1934 creation, by

, of the Daniel Sieff Research Institute in

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

in present-day

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 ...

. Renamed the

Weizmann Institute of Science 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 ...

in 1949 with the Sieff family's consent, it is Israel's premier research university in the natural sciences. Sieff was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

and his ashes were placed next to those of

Arms

References

1889 births 1972 deaths British Zionists Businesspeople from Manchester People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of the University of Manchester English businesspeople in retailing Conservative Party (UK) life peers English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Life peers Israel David Jewish English politicians 20th-century English businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub