Difference between revisions of "David Wolfson (Lord Wolfson of Tredegar)"

Latest revision as of 11:04, 9 August 2025

Not to be confused with David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale

(born 19 July 1968)

Family

Great-grandfather was naturalised (we found his papers in the National Archive) and converted his Hebrew name into English: “Aaron son of Wolf” became “Aaron Wolfson”. But it wasn’t all good. Great-uncle Jack was born in the middle of an anti-Jewish riot in the town in 1911. He was known as “Jack the Riot Baby”, the first member of the family to be given a title.’ ^[1]

Background

One of the first decisions David Wolfson made on being elevated to the House of Lords was to honour his roots. For the Liverpool-raised barrister, who was this week made a life peer and appointed junior justice minister, will be known as Lord Wolfson of Tredegar. He chose the South Wales town as it was where his paternal great-grandfather, Aaron, emigrated to from what is now present-day Ukraine. Mr Wolfson told the Jewish Telegraph: “As a Jewish community in Britain, we live in what the Talmudic rabbis called a ‘kingdom of kindness’. “This is a tolerant country where we can practise our religion, and where we have full civil and religious rights. “I wanted to take the name of a place which will remind me of — and also speak to — those issues.

“We came here as immigrants and British society enabled us to thrive as a community. “It is important for me to remember those early days and where our roots are, which, in my case, is in South Wales. “My great-grandfather is buried in Merthyr Tydfil and my great-uncle Jack was actually born in the middle of the 1911 anti-Jewish riots in Tredegar.”

His position at the Ministry of Justice — which puts him on leave of absence from his chambers at One Essex Court — sends him to the Lords, where he will sit as a Conservative peer. Called to the Bar in 1992 and made a QC 11 years ago, London-based Mr Wolfson has worked on various matters for the Government over the past few years. When Michael Gove was Lord Chancellor, Mr Wolfson, who is married to Louise, was involved in human rights issues, and work related to Brexit and jurisdiction.

“I will be dealing with the Ministry of Justice brief in the Lords, introducing bills, answering questions and speaking on legislation,” he said. “In particular, I will be focusing on civil justice and doing all I can to make sure London keeps its place as the pre-eminent litigation and arbitration centre that it is.”

Educated at Liverpool’s King David High School, Mr Wolfson is the son of Rosalind and Bernard Wolfson, who now live in Jerusalem. His father was also a lawyer and district judge. His sisters are Rina Wolfson in London and Hannah Cohn who, with his brother, Jonny, reside in Israel. Mr Wolfson’s paternal grandfather was Rev Sam Wolfson, who served Liverpool’s Greenbank Drive Synagogue for more than 40 years. “My grandfather was a formative influence on me,” he recalled. “I learned with him and he taught me how to leyn.” Mr Wolfson studied at Jerusalem’s Yeshivat Ha-Kotel, before he read Oriental studies, specialising in Hebrew and Aramaic, at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He started his law career at 3 Verulam Buildings, where he spent five years, before moving to One Essex Court.

Mr Wolfson, who is father to 18-year-old Sam, Zara, 16, and 13-year-old Abi, has represented banks, hedge funds and oligarchs — including acting for Russian-Israeli tycoon Arkady Gaydamak when he sued his former business partner Lev Leviev. A lifelong Liverpool Football Club supporter, he will be formally introduced at the House of Lords next month.^[2]

Affiliations

Charity Trustee

Benesco Charity Limited (Charity number: 269181 Company number 00972762)
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (UK) (Charity number: 1167946)

Company director

Name	Company number	Company status	Correspondence address	Role	Position	Appointed on	Resigned on	Nationality	Country of residence	Occupation
Lew Dreamland Limited	14553659	Active	8 Vivian Way, London, England, N2 0AE	Role Active	Director	21 December 2022		British	England	Barrister
Benesco Charity Limited	00972762	Active	55 Baker Street, London, United Kingdom, W1U 7EU	Role Active	Director	20 April 2017		British	England	Kings Counsel
Jewish Chronicle Trust Limited	00966860	Dissolved	1 Essex Court, Temple, London, England, EC4Y 9AR	Role	Director	5 October 2011		British	United Kingdom	Barrister
Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP	Oc361003	Active	1st Floor, Sackville House, 143-149 Fenchurch Street, London, England, EC3M 6BL	Role Active	LLP Member	31 March 2011			England
Kerem Schools	03391872	Active	Kerem School, Norrice Lea, London, England, N2 0RE	Role Resigned	Director	1 January 2012	23 December 2020	British	England	Barrister
Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited	02182018	Active	90 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4ST	Role Resigned	Director	1 January 2005	3 October 2017	British	United Kingdom	Non-Executive Director
One Britton Street Management Company Limited	03466604	Dissolved	Flat 22 One Britton Street, London, EC1	Role Resigned	Director	17 April 2003	4 July 2005	British		Barrister

Register of Interests

Current as of August 2025.^[3]

Category 1: Remunerated employment etc.

Practising barrister at One Essex Court, London
Chair, Football Regulatory Authority (part of The Football Association; any remuneration received will be donated to charity for retired players who have fallen on hard times)
LLP member (as investor), Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP (construction of data centre)

Category 2: Shareholdings etc. (b)

Traders Tools Limited (User interface of financial applications)

Category 3: Land and property

Residential property in London (NW11, EC1M), Margate, Switzerland and Israel from which rental income is received

Category 5: Overseas visits

Visit to Paris, 16 December 2024, to attend "E3 - Israel strategic dialogue", travel and accommodation costs met by Elnet (organisers)

Resources

Notes

↑ https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/-the-political-wheel-turns-i-was-quick-to-get-over-it-lord-wolfson-qc
↑ Jewish Telegraph, #𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲
↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20250808141747/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4901/registeredinterests

[1] ttps://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/-the-political-wheel-turns-i-was-quick-to-get-over-it-lord-wolfson-qc

[2] Jewish Telegraph, #𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20250808141747/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4901/registeredinterests

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Not to be confused with [[David Wolfson (Lord Wolfson of Tredegar)]], KC
+Not to be confused with [[David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale]]
 ----
-{{Template:Revolving Door badge}}
-[[David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale]] (9 November 1935 - 10 March 2021)) was a British politician and businessman. He was [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher's]] Chief of Staff from 1979 to 1985. He was Chairman of [[Next plc]] from 1990 to 1998 and [[Great Universal Stores]] from 1996 to 2000. <ref>‘[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U40467 WOLFSON OF SUNNINGDALE]’, ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 2009, accessed 8 July 2010</ref> Along with his two sons [[Simon Wolfson|Simon]] and [[Andrew Wolfson|Andrew]] he is a trustee of the [[The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust]], <ref>[[Media:The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust - Contact & Trustees.JPG|Screengrab]] of Charity Commission, The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust > Contact & trustees, created 8 July 2010</ref> a grant making charity founded by his father which funds right-wing and Zionist organisations.
-He became a [[Conservative]] peer in the House of Lords on the 26 March 1991.<ref name="parl"> [http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-wolfson-of-sunningdale/1772 Lord Wolfson of Sunningdale] ''Parliament.UK'', accessed 23 December 2014 </ref>
+(born 19 July 1968)
-==Education==
-Clifton School, Bristol, Trinity College Cambridge (MA), Stanford University (MBA)
-==Career==
-Wolfson joined [[Great Universal Stores]] plc in 1960, and was director 1973-78 and 1993-2000, chairman 1996-2000. His uncle [[Isaac Wolfson]] was a directors at GUS when he joined, becoming Managing director, shortly thereafter.  Later, after Isaac's death (in 1991) and the retirement of his son [[Leonard Wolfson]] (in 1996), David took over as Chairman from his cousin.
-He was Secretary to [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s shadow cabinet 1978-79, and chief of staff Political Office 10 Downing St 1979-85;
+==Family==
+:Great-grandfather was naturalised (we found his papers in the National Archive) and converted his Hebrew name into English: “Aaron son of Wolf” became “[[Aaron Wolfson]]”. But it wasn’t all good. Great-uncle Jack was born in the middle of an anti-Jewish riot in the town in 1911. He was known as “[[Jack Wolfson|Jack the Riot Baby]]”, the first member of the family to be given a title.’ <ref>https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/-the-political-wheel-turns-i-was-quick-to-get-over-it-lord-wolfson-qc</ref>
+==Background==
-He was subsequently chairman: [[Alexon Group]] plc (formerly Steinberg Group plc) 1982-86, [[Next]] plc 1990-98 (non-exec director 1989-98); non-exec dir: [[Stewart Wrightson Holdings]] plc 1985-87, [[Compco Holdings]] plc 1995-2003, [[Body Metrics]] Ltd 2000-02, [[Avocet Capital Management]] Ltd 2001-02, [[Fibernet Group]] plc 2001-<ref>Debrett's People of Today [http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/3280/David-Wolfson-WOLFSON-OF-SUNNINGDALE David Wolfson]</ref>
+:One of the first decisions David Wolfson made on being elevated to the House of Lords was to honour his roots. For the Liverpool-raised barrister, who was this week made a life peer and appointed junior justice minister, will be known as Lord Wolfson of Tredegar. He chose the South Wales town as it was where his paternal great-grandfather, Aaron, emigrated to from what is now present-day Ukraine. Mr Wolfson told the Jewish Telegraph: “As a Jewish community in Britain, we live in what the Talmudic rabbis called a ‘kingdom of kindness’. “This is a tolerant country where we can practise our religion, and where we have full civil and religious rights. “I wanted to take the name of a place which will remind me of — and also speak to — those issues.
+“We came here as immigrants and British society enabled us to thrive as a community. “It is important for me to remember those early days and where our roots are, which, in my case, is in South Wales. “My great-grandfather is buried in Merthyr Tydfil and my great-uncle Jack was actually born in the middle of the 1911 anti-Jewish riots in Tredegar.”
+:His position at the Ministry of Justice — which puts him on leave of absence from his chambers at One Essex Court — sends him to the Lords, where he will sit as a Conservative peer. Called to the Bar in 1992 and made a QC 11 years ago, London-based Mr Wolfson has worked on various matters for the Government over the past few years. When Michael Gove was Lord Chancellor, Mr Wolfson, who is married to Louise, was involved in human rights issues, and work related to Brexit and jurisdiction.
+“I will be dealing with the Ministry of Justice brief in the Lords, introducing bills, answering questions and speaking on legislation,” he said. “In particular, I will be focusing on civil justice and doing all I can to make sure London keeps its place as the pre-eminent litigation and arbitration centre that it is.”
+:Educated at Liverpool’s [[King David High School]], Mr Wolfson is the son of [[Rosalind wolfson|Rosalind]] and [[Bernard Wolfson]], who now live in Jerusalem. His father was also a lawyer and district judge. His sisters are [[Rina Wolfson]] in London and [[Hannah Cohn]] who, with his brother, [[Jonny wolfson|Jonny]], reside in Israel. Mr Wolfson’s paternal grandfather was Rev [[Sam Wolfson]], who served Liverpool’s [[Greenbank Drive Synagogue]] for more than 40 years. “My grandfather was a formative influence on me,” he recalled. “I learned with him and he taught me how to leyn.” Mr Wolfson studied at Jerusalem’s [[Yeshivat Ha-Kotel]], before he read Oriental studies, specialising in Hebrew and Aramaic, at [[Selwyn College, Cambridge]]. He started his law career at [[3 Verulam Buildings]], where he spent five years, before moving to [[One Essex Court]].
+:Mr Wolfson, who is father to 18-year-old [[Sam Wolfson|Sam]], [[Zara Wolfson|Zara]], 16, and 13-year-old [[Abi Wolfson|Abi]], has represented banks, hedge funds and oligarchs — including acting for Russian-Israeli tycoon [[Arkady Gaydamak]] when he sued his former business partner [[Lev Leviev]]. A lifelong Liverpool Football Club supporter, he will be formally introduced at the House of Lords next month.<ref>Jewish Telegraph, #𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲</ref>
 ==Affiliations==
-*[[David and Jennifer Sieff Charitable Trust]]
+===Charity Trustee===
-==Interests==
+*[[Benesco Charity Limited]] (Charity number: 269181 Company number 00972762)
-*[[Agrifirma Brazil]] Ltd
+*[[Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (UK)]] (Charity number: 1167946)
-*Adviser, [[Oakley Capital]] Ltd
-*Trustee, [[Bedford Estate]]
+===Company director===
-*[[Woburn Estates]] Ltd
+{| class="wikitable"
+! Name !! Company number !! Company status !! Correspondence address !! Role !! Position !! Appointed on !! Resigned on !! Nationality !! Country of residence !! Occupation
+|-
+| [[Lew Dreamland Limited]]  || 14553659 || Active || 8 Vivian Way, London, England, N2 0AE || Role Active || Director || 21 December 2022 ||  || British || England || Barrister
+|-
+| [[Benesco Charity Limited]]  || 00972762 || Active || 55 Baker Street, London, United Kingdom, W1U 7EU || Role Active || Director || 20 April 2017 ||  || British || England || Kings Counsel
+|-
+| [[Jewish Chronicle Trust Limited]]  || 00966860 || Dissolved || 1 Essex Court, Temple, London, England, EC4Y 9AR || Role || Director || 5 October 2011 ||  || British || United Kingdom || Barrister
+|-
+| [[Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP]]  || Oc361003 || Active || 1st Floor, Sackville House, 143-149 Fenchurch Street, London, England, EC3M 6BL || Role Active || LLP Member || 31 March 2011 ||  ||  || England ||
+|-
+| [[Kerem Schools]]  || 03391872 || Active || Kerem School, Norrice Lea, London, England, N2 0RE || Role Resigned || Director || 1 January 2012 || 23 December 2020 || British || England || Barrister
+|-
+| [[Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited]] || 02182018 || Active || 90 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4ST || Role Resigned || Director || 1 January 2005 || 3 October 2017 || British || United Kingdom || Non-Executive Director
+|-
+| [[One Britton Street Management Company Limited]]  || 03466604 || Dissolved || Flat 22 One Britton Street, London, EC1 || Role Resigned || Director || 17 April 2003 || 4 July 2005 || British ||  || Barrister
+|}
+==Register of Interests==
+Current as of August 2025.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20250808141747/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4901/registeredinterests</ref>
+===Category 1: Remunerated employment etc.===
+*Practising barrister at [[One Essex Court]], London
+*Chair, [[Football Regulatory Authority]] (part of [[The Football Association]]; any remuneration received will be donated to charity for retired players who have fallen on hard times)
+*LLP member (as investor), [[Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP]] (construction of data centre)
+===Category 2: Shareholdings etc. (b)===
+*[[Traders Tools Limited]] (User interface of financial applications)
+===Category 3: Land and property===
+*Residential property in London (NW11, EC1M), Margate, Switzerland and Israel from which rental income is received
+===Category 5: Overseas visits===
+*Visit to Paris, 16 December 2024, to attend "E3 - Israel strategic dialogue", travel and accommodation costs met by [[Elnet]] (organisers)
+==Resources==
+*https://www.thejc.com/community/lord-wolfsons-mission-to-feed-the-idf-lsyayrnk
+*https://www.facebook.com/jewishtelegraph/posts/%F0%9D%97%A0%F0%9D%97%94%F0%9D%97%A1%F0%9D%97%96%F0%9D%97%9B%F0%9D%97%98%F0%9D%97%A6%F0%9D%97%A7%F0%9D%97%98%F0%9D%97%A5-%F0%9D%97%9F%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%B3%F0%9D%97%B2-%F0%9D%97%BD%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%BF-%F0%9D%97%B5%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%98%82%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%98%80-%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%98%80-%F0%9D%98%84%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B5-%F0%9D%97%B4%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%98%81-%F0%9D%97%B4%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%B1%F0%9D%97%B3%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B5%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%BF-%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%AF%F0%9D%98%82%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B2one-of-the-firs/10158252930317832/
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
-[[Category:House of Lords|Wolfson, David]][[Category:Revolving Door|Wolfson, David]][[Category:Conservative Party|Wolfson, David]][[Category:Financial sector lobbying|Wolfson, David]]