Michael Newman OBE

Michael has been Chief Executive since July 2012, having joined the AJR in January 2001.

Working closely with the Board of Trustees and the senior management team, he has overall responsibility for implementing strategy and delivering services and for the day-to-day operations of the AJR. As well as being an adviser on Holocaust-era restitution issues, guiding Holocaust survivors and refugees, and their families, with applications for compensation and the recovery of Holocaust-era assets, Michael worked with the UK government to create the position of UK Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues. He now advises the incumbent Envoy, Lord Eric Pickles, on Holocaust related issues.

Michael is an active member of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) advising on communication matters relating to projects and programmes and has chaired the Communications Working Group.

Outside of work, Michael is President of the Anglo-Jewish Association (AJA), which supports Jewish students to attend higher and further education. The AJA is a founding member of the Claims Conference, for which Michael serves as a director. He is the co-editor of Contemporary Human Rights Challenges: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Continuing Relevance, an edited collection of new essays by leading international human rights experts.

Previously, Michael was a consultant to the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) and was a researcher at the Holocaust Educational Trust, the Britain-Israel Parliamentary Group and the Inter Parliamentary Council Against Anti-Semitism.