David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville

The Lord Sainsbury of Turville
Sainsbury in 2013
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
Assumed office
16 October 2011
Preceded byPrince Philip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and Innovation
In office
27 July 1998 – 10 November 2006
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJohn Battle
Succeeded byMalcolm Wicks
Member of the House of Lords
Life peerage
3 October 1997 – 1 July 2021
Personal details
Born
David John Sainsbury

(1940-10-24) 24 October 1940 (age 84)
Political partyLabour (1960s–81; since 1996)
SDP (1981–88)
'Continuing' SDP (1988–90)
Spouse(s)Susan Carroll, Lady Sainsbury, DBE
RelationsAlan Sainsbury (uncle)
Parent(s)Robert Sainsbury (father)
Lisa van den Bergh (mother)
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge (BA)
Columbia University (MBA)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBusinessman, philanthropist

David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville (born 24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of Sainsbury's, the supermarket chain established by his great-grandfather John James Sainsbury in 1869.

He was made a life peer in 1997 as a member of the Labour Party, and was on a leave of absence from the House of Lords from 15 July 2013 to his retirement in 2021.[1] He served in the government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and Innovation from 1998 and 2006.

He is a major donor to the University of Cambridge and, in 2011, was elected Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.[2] He also made the largest donation in British political history, giving £8 million to the Liberal Democrats.[3]

  1. ^ "Lord Sainsbury of Turville". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Sainsbury wins Chancellor election". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. ^ Yorke, Harry (27 February 2020). "Lord Sainsbury gave biggest political donation in history". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 February 2020.