Daniel Finkelstein


Daniel William Finkelstein, Baron Finkelstein, is a British journalist and politician. He is a former executive editor of The Times, remains a weekly political columnist, and is now associate editor. He is a former chairman of Policy Exchange who was succeeded by David Frum in 2014. He was made a member of the House of Lords in August 2013, sitting as a Conservative.

Background

Finkelstein is Jewish; his mother, Mirjam Finkelstein, was a Holocaust survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while his father Ludwik Finkelstein OBE was born in Lviv, and became Professor of Measurement and Instrumentation at City University London. He is a grandson, via his mother, of Dr Alfred Wiener, the Jewish activist and founder of the Wiener Library. He is the brother of Prof. Anthony Finkelstein FREng, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences at University College London and of Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
He was educated at University College School, the London School of Economics and City University London.

Political career

SDP

Between 1981 and 1990, Finkelstein was a member of the SDP, becoming Chair of the Young Social Democrats on the defection of his predecessor Keith Toussaint to the Conservative Party during the 1983 general election campaign. Subsequently he was elected youth representative on its National Committee, selected as a parliamentary candidate and became a close ally and adviser to David Owen, the SDP leader. When the merger with the Liberal Party was proposed, Finkelstein was among the leading opponents and refused to join the merged party. After Owen had announced his resignation from politics, Finkelstein was the spokesman for a group of young SDP members who joined the Conservatives.

Think tanks

Before working for the Conservative Party, Finkelstein was Director of the think tank the Social Market Foundation for three years. During his period with the SMF the organisation brought New York police commissioner Bill Bratton to London, for the first time introducing UK politicians to the successful new strategies being used there.
Finkelstein was formerly on the board of the Gatestone Institute, a far-right think tank known for publishing anti-Muslim articles.
In 2018 he became chairman of the new think tank Onward, whose mission is to renew the centre right for the next generation.

Conservative Party

Between 1995 and 1997 Finkelstein was Director of the Conservative Research Department and in that capacity advised Prime Minister John Major and attended meetings of the Cabinet when it sat in political session. Finkelstein became among the earliest advocates of the 'modernisation' of the Conservative Party, laying out the principles of change in a series of speeches and columns in The Times.
Between 1997 and 2001 he was political adviser to the Leader of the Opposition William Hague and, together with George Osborne, Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet.
In the 2001 election Finkelstein was the unsuccessful Conservative parliamentary candidate in Harrow West.

Journalism

Between 1990 and 1992, Finkelstein was the editor of Connexion, Britain's first Internet and data communications newspaper. Finkelstein joined The Times in August 2001 as part of the leader writing team and was Comment Editor from March 2004 to June 2008. He became Chief Leader Writer in June 2008. He began The Times blog Comment Central in September 2006. He is also a regular columnist in The Jewish Chronicle. His weekly football statistics column, the Fink Tank, began in 2002 and runs in The Times on Saturdays.

Honours and awards

Finkelstein was awarded the OBE in the 1997 honours list.
In 2011 Daniel Finkelstein was awarded the "PSA 2011 Journalist of the Year Award". It was announced at the beginning of August 2013 that Finkelstein was to be made a life peer. He was created Baron Finkelstein, of Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow on 11 September 2013.
Finkelstein was given an honorary Doctor of Science degree by City University London in 2011.
He is a Vice President of the Jewish Leadership Council.