David Alliance, Baron Alliance - Biography

David Alliance, Baron Alliance, GBE (born 15 June 1932) is a British businessman and Liberal Democrat politician of Iranian origin. Alliance is a member of the Jewish faith.

Career

David Alliance (originally Davoud) was born in Kashan, Iran and was educated at the Etahad School, Iran.

He owns 33% and is chairman of N Brown Group plc, a clothing catalogue retailer. He was also the joint founder with Sir Harry Djanogly of Coats Viyella plc (now Coats plc) operating in 67 countries with 22% global market share, employing 70,000 people. Share sales, a valuable art collection and some small private firms account for the remainder of the family fortune. Lord Alliance, with Harry Djanogly, turned Coats Viyella into a £2bn textile business.

Lord Alliance serves on a number of committees including the Prince’s Youth Business Trust, Council for Industry and Higher Education, and the University of Manchester Foundation, and the Wiseman Institute. He is senior trustee of the Next Century Foundation. He has a number of fellowships including Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce; Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute; and Hon. Fellow of the Shenkar College of Textile Technology and Fashion. Lord Alliance holds a Doctorate of Science at Heriot-Watt University and Legum Doctor (Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa) from the University of Manchester. He is an Honorary Fellow of UMIST.

Alliance was appointed a CBE in 1984 and promoted to GBE in 1989. He was created a life peer as Baron Alliance, of Manchester in the County of Greater Manchester, in 2004 and sits on the Liberal Democrat benches. He is divorced with three children and five grandchildren, and now lives in Manchester and London.

In the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 267th with an estimated fortune of £408 million. Since his elevation to the peerage in 2004, he has given the Liberal Democrats £668,872 in donations, plus an additional £20,996.56 in notional interest on loans he has made to the party.

Lord Alliance owns a home in Didsbury, Manchester and a mock Georgian mansion in St Johns Wood, an affluent area of north west London. He also owns a collection of Lowry paintings.

External links

• Lord Alliance Liberal Democrats profile