(JTA) — Ian Livingston, chief executive of the British multinational telecommunications services company BT, was named Britain’s trade minister and given a lordship.
Livingston was appointed last week as trade and investment minister in an announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron. He also was elevated to the House of Lords, where he will be known as Lord Livingston.
A member of the Conservative Tory Party, Livingston is a supporter of Israel and Jewish charities, including the high school Yavneh College, the United Jewish Israel Appeal, the human rights NGO Rene Cassin and the Jewish business incubator TraidE, according to the Times of Israel. He attends an Orthodox synagogue outside of London.
As chief executive of BT for the last five years, Livingston helped the company shed its debt and raise its share price.
Other Jewish leaders in the Tory Party include co-chairs Lord Andrew Feldman and Parliament member Grant Shapps, according to the Times of Israel.
