Sigmund Sternberg

Sir Sigmund Sternberg KCSG GCFO JP[1] (2 June 1921 – 18 October 2016) (Hungarian: Sternberg Zsigmond; 2 June 1921 – 18 October 2016) was a Hungarian-British philanthropist, interfaith campaigner, businessman and Labour Party donor.

Sigmund Sternberg
Born(1921-06-02)2 June 1921
Budapest, Hungary
Died18 October 2016(2016-10-18) (aged 95)
OccupationBusinessman, philanthropist
Spouse(s)Ruth Schiff
Hazel Sternberg
ChildrenFrances Aviva Blane
Michael Sternberg

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 in promoting 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.

He was a long-term Labour Party supporter and donor.[4]

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.[5] He was chairman of the Sternberg Interfaith Gold Medallion.

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.[6] 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.[7] In 2008, he received the FIRST International Award for Responsible Capitalism, lifetime achievement medal.[8]

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
  1. Association Members Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine – official website of the Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain of Pius IX, Saint Gregory and Saint Sylvester
  2. Sugarman, Daniel (October 19, 2016). "Sir Sigmund Sternberg dead at 95". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  3. Klein, Emma (October 20, 2016). "Obituary: Sir Sigmund Sternberg". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  4. "Tribute to Sir Sigmund Sternberg – Labour Business". Labour Business. 2017. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  5. Who's who: Sir Sigmund Sternberg, President – website of Movement for Reform Judaism
  6. Previous price winners – website of the Templeton Prize
  7. 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
  8. 2008 Award – official website of FIRST Magazine
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