Sigmund Sternberg
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Sir Sigmund Sternberg Template:Post-nominals[1] (Template:Langx; 2 June 1921 – 18 October 2016) was a Hungarian-British philanthropist, interfaith campaigner, businessman and Labour Party donor.
Early life
Sternberg was born in 1921 in Budapest, Hungary.[2][3] He was Jewish. He emigrated to England in 1939,[2] and was naturalised as a British citizen in 1947.
Career
Sternberg worked in the scrap metal trade.[2] After the war, he founded Sternberg Group of Companies.[3] By 1968 he retired from the scrap metal trade and focused on commercial property investments.[3]
Philanthropy
Sternberg worked to promote dialogue between different faiths. For example, he relocated a Roman Catholic convent at Auschwitz. Moreover, he organised the first papal visit to a synagogue in 1986. Additionally, he negotiated the Vatican's recognition of the state of Israel.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Sternberg established The Sir Sigmund Sternberg Charitable Foundation in 1969 and was one of the co-founders of the Three Faiths Forum. Sternberg was Life President of the Movement for Reform Judaism.[4] He was chairman of the Sternberg Interfaith Gold Medallion.
Distinctions
In 1976, Sternberg was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and in 1985 he was made a Papal Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG) by Pope John Paul II.[2] He was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1998 for his interfaith work worldwide.[5] In November 2005, Sternberg was promoted to the highest rank within the Royal Order of Francis I to the grade of Knight Grand Cross (GCFO), this in recognition of his contributions to furthering the interfaith activities of the British and Irish Delegation.[6] In 2008, he received the FIRST International Award for Responsible Capitalism, lifetime achievement medal.[7] In 2009 he was made Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite by King Mohammed VI.
Politics
Sternberg was a long-term Labour Party supporter and donor,[8] and was one of its top 50 donors in 2001 with a gift of £100,000 to its head office.[9]
Personal life and death
Sternberg married Ruth Schiff in 1949.[3] They had a son, Michael Sternberg, and a daughter, artist Frances Aviva Blane. They divorced in 1969, and he later married Hazel Sternberg, who died in 2014.[2] He died on 18 October 2016.[2]
References
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- ↑ Association Members Template:Webarchive – official website of the Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain of Pius IX, Saint Gregory and Saint Sylvester
- ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Who's who: Sir Sigmund Sternberg, President – website of Movement for Reform Judaism
- ↑ Previous price winners – website of the Templeton Prize
- ↑ Interfaith leader Sir Sigmund Sternberg promoted to the highest rank within the Royal Order of Francis I – official website of the Grand Magistral Delegation for Inter-Religious Relations
- ↑ 2008 Award – official website of FIRST Magazine
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External links
- Profile from the Three Faiths Forum
- A portrait of Sir Sigmund (1998) by Valerie Wiffen, Sir Sigmund Sternberg by Valerie Wiffen, oil on canvas, 1998], is in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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