Clemens Neumann Nathan was a German-born English businessman and philanthropist. He was a campaigner on behalf of Jewish causes, international human rights and interfaith dialogue.
Early life
Born in Hamburg in August 1933, Nathan came with his family to England at the age of three to escape Nazi persecution. Nathan was educated at Berkhamsted Boys School in Hertfordshire, and subsequently studied wool manufacture at the Scottish Woollen Technical College in Galashiels, Scotland. He was awarded an MPhil at the University of Leeds in Textile Industry.
Career
At the age of 24, Nathan became managing director of the textile agency Cunart Ltd. Nathan was an active member of the Textile Institute, becoming a Vice-President, Vice-Chairman, Fellow, Council Member and a Companion Member of the Institute. He wrote papers for and for many other journals. He delivered lectures at international conferences, serving as a visiting lecturer on textile technology at the College of Distributive Trades in London and lecturing regularly at the University of Leeds, as well as contributing to research being conducted at the university.
Philanthropy
Nathan was the founding Chairman of The Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations in Cambridge, which is devoted to teaching, research and dialogue between the three Abrahamic faiths. He subsequently became its Honorary Vice President. He was a Board Member of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and was Life President of the Support Group for the at the University of Sussex. Nathan was also a founding inspiration in the establishment of the NGO Rene Cassin, a human rights organization. He was also a Board Member for the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and a close associate of over 40 years with the Paris-based Alliance Israélite Universelle. In 2004 Nathan established the Clemens Nathan Research Centre, organizing numerous international conferences and publishing many books on human rights As a result of his work, amongst other public engagements he gave a lecture at The Peace Palace in the Hague for a conference on reparations hosted by , entitled 'The Relevance of Post-Holocaust Experience', and he was invited to lecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 on 'Human Rights in the 21st Century'. Nathan was also a respected and prominent figure within the UK Jewish community. He was President of the Anglo-Jewish Association, Joint Chairman of the Consultative Council of Jewish Organisations, and a director of the Sephardi Centre in London. He was also a governor of the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Israel. In 1966 Nathan received the Italian Cavalieri Al Merito, Knight and Order of Merit for services to the textile industry. He was also awarded the Textile Institute Service Medal for services to industry and to the Textile Institute. In 1996 he received The Officer’s Cross of Austria. He also received a medal from the State of Israel for his input to its Economic Council. Nathan was described as "the human of human rights" and "amongst the outstanding Englishmen of today and one of the great Jews of our generation". In 2012, he was one of a small group to offer the loyal address by the British Jewish Community to the Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.
