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David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville

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Baron Sainsbury of Turville
David Sainsbury, Progressive Governance Conference 2009 in Chile
BornDavid John Sainsbury
(1940-10-24) 24 October 1940 (age 84)
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
Known forbusinessman, politician and peer
TitleFellow of the Royal Society
Political partyLabour Party
ParentRobert Sainsbury
RelativesAlan Sainsbury (uncle)

David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville Hon. FRS (born 24 October 1940) is a British businessman, politician and peer in the Labour Party.

Early and private life

He is the son of Sir Robert Sainsbury and the nephew of Lord Sainsbury. His cousin is the Conservative peer Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover.

He holds a BA degree in History and Psychology from King's College, Cambridge and an MBA from Columbia University. On 10 September 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree in Science at the University College London. Before that he attended Eton College.

Business career

Sainsbury retains a sizeable shareholding in his family's Sainsbury's supermarket chain (around 6%). He was the group's Finance Director from 1975 to 1992 and Chairman from 1992 to 1998. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 his family fortune was estimated at £1.3 billion.

Politics career

Sainsbury was a supporter of the Social Democratic Party, including significant financial support, and changed allegiance to the Labour Party following the failure of the SDP to make substantial progress. He has donated millions of pounds to the Labour Party, and has been associated with the Institute for Public Policy Research.

He was made a life peer as Baron Sainsbury of Turville, of Turville in the County of Buckinghamshire in 1997, following Labour's election victory. From July 1998 to November 2006 he held the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Trade and Industry with responsibility for Science and Innovation in the House of Lords, an unpaid government position.

In July 2006 he was questioned by police in the "Cash for Peerages" inquiry. He made a £2m loan to the Labour Party.

On 10 November 2006 he resigned as science minister stating that he wanted to focus on business and charity work.

Charitable works

David Sainsbury is a noted philanthropist and founded the Gatsby Charitable Foundation in 1967. By 2009 the foundation had given £660m to a range of charitable causes. In 1993 he donated £200m in shares to the Foundation's assets. In 2009 he allocated a further £465 million to the foundation, this will made him the first Briton to donate more than £1 billion to charity.

He was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Society in May 2008.

See also

References

  1. "Lord Sainsbury and family". Sunday Times Rich List 2008. The Sunday Times. 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  2. J Sainsbury Plc major shareholders
  3. Ministers quizzed in donor probe. BBC News (14 July 2006) (accessed 19 January 2009)
  4. BBC News
  5. ^ Butterworth, Myra (2009-04-19). "Lord Sainsbury becomes first Briton to donate more than £1 billion to charity". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  6. BBC News: Profile: Lord Sainsbury.
  7. New Fellows 2008

External links

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