Edgar M. Bronfman, Sr.

Edgar M. Bronfman, Sr.

"Bronfman is president of the World Jewish Congress, an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations whose primary goal is to preserve and foster the worldwide unity of the Jewish people and to protect and nourish their spiritual, cultural and social heritage. He is also the president of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, which is devoted to ensuring the return of communal Jewish property that was stolen from Jewish communities during World War II. Bronfman also chairs the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (Hillel), a worldwide organization uniting Jewish students on college and university campuses. His philanthropic and civic activities include serving as chairman of both The Samuel Bronfman Foundation and the United States Commission on Holocaust Era Assets.

"In 1951, Bronfman joined Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited (renamed The Seagram Company Ltd. in 1975). He became president of Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited in 1971 and chairman in 1975. In 1994, he relinquished the position of chief executive officer to his son, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. The senior Bronfman served as chairman of the Seagram Company Ltd. until its merger into Vivendi Universal in 2000.

"In 1999, President Clinton awarded Bronfman the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. That same year, Bronfman received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters form the University of Rochester. He also has received honorary degrees from New York University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Pace University, Tulane University and Williams College. Bronfman was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion D’Honneur by the government of France, as well as the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award of the 85th National Convention of the Zionist Organization of America." (2003)


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