Leonard Steinberg, Baron Steinberg (1 August 1936 – 2 November 2009) was a British

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 ...

and multi-millionaire businessman. Born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

on 1 August 1936, he was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

. Steinberg was the founder and Non-Executive chairman of

Stanley Leisure Stanley Leisure is a British casino firm. History The company was founded in the 1950s as a bookmakers in Belfast. It was originally run by Leonard Steinberg, Baron Steinberg. In 1977, Steinberg moved the business to Liverpool after an attempted ...

.Unlock Democracy website: Party Watch
''(accessed on 25 June 2007)'' The business was founded in Belfast in 1958, but Steinberg moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1977 when he refused to pay

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

to either republican or

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

paramilitaries, and after he was shot on 23 February 1977 by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

.''Irish Times'', 24 February 1977 ''The Irish Times'' reported the next day that, "The attacks are believed to be part a campaign against leading figures in the North’s commercial life launched late last year by the Provisional IRA." Despite his move to England, he continued to describe himself thus: "I am Jewish, Northern Irish, and an

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist oppositi ...

" Since 2005, Stanley Leisure has seen changes of ownership, with William Hill buying the bookmaking operations and the

Genting Group The Genting Group is headquartered in Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Group comprises the holding company Genting Berhad (), its listed subsidiaries Genting Malaysia Berhad (), Genting Plantations Berhad (), Genting Singapore Plc () ...

buying the casino operation. Steinberg sold a large number of his shares in 2004, but retained 11.3% of the company's

stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

.Manchester Evening News
''(accessed on 25 June 2007)''. His personal fortune was estimated as being some £108 million in 2005. He was also the founder and chairman of trustees of the Steinberg Family Charitable Trust. Steinberg, who then lived in Hale, was made a Conservative Party

on 23 June 2004 with the title Baron Steinberg, of

in the

County of Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and had made contributions to the Conservative Party. The

Northern Ireland Friends of Israel Northern Ireland Friends of Israel is a group dedicated to fostering better relations between Northern Ireland and the State of Israel. The group was launched by the deputy ambassador of Israel, Talya Lador-Fresher, president of the Board of D ...

group was launched with Steinberg as president in March 2009. He spoke of "the longstanding links which connect Northern Ireland and Israel" at that launch. Steinberg died in London on 2 November 2009 while travelling to attend a sitting of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He was survived by his wife Beryl, two children and grandchildren. His wife, Lady Beryl Steinberg, died on 8 February 2022.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberg, Leonard 1936 births 2009 deaths Businesspeople from Belfast Conservative Party (UK) life peers Jews from Northern Ireland People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution British shooting survivors People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Ulster Unionist Party life peers Jewish British politicians Life peers created by Elizabeth II 20th-century Irish Jews 21st-century Irish Jews 21st-century British Jews

Arms

See also

References