Israel Sieff, Baron Sieff

Israel Moses Sieff, Baron Sieff (4 May 1889 – 14 February 1972) was an English businessman and Zionist who was chairman of the British retailer Marks & Spencer from 1964 to 1967.

Early life and education

He was born in Manchester, the son of Ephraim Sieff and Sarah Saffer.

Following Lord Sieff's death, The Times recalled Sieff's approach to business:

In 1918, Sieff was a member of the Zionist Commission which visited Palestine under the leadership of Chaim Weizmann.

Sieff was president of the Political and Economic Planning 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 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 Chaim Weizmann, of the Daniel Sieff Research Institute in Rehovot in present-day Israel. Renamed the Weizmann Institute of Science 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 and his ashes were placed next to those of Simon Marks.

Arms