Dorrit Moussaieff
Encyclopedia
Dorrit Moussaieff is an Israel
i-born British jewellery designer, editor and businesswoman. She is the First Lady of Iceland
, married to Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
, president of Iceland
.
, Uzbekistan
. The Moussaieff family is part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great granddaughter of Shlomo Moussaieff
. Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of Genghis Khan
. Her great grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of Yosef Maimon
. Her father, Shlomo Moussaieff
, is a Bukharian Jew and her mother, Aliza is an Austrian Jew of Ashkenazi heritage, but Dorrit identifies more with the Bukharian culture and was raised by her father's large family.
Moussaieff was born and raised in the Bukharan Quarter
of Jerusalem. At thirteen, she moved with her family to London
. She suffered from dyslexia
and was home-schooled. In addition to English
and Hebrew, she also speaks German
, French
, and some Icelandic
.
Her first marriage to Neil Zarach, a designer, ended in divorce. In 2003, she married the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.
Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul," and continues to observe Jewish rituals, such as lighting Hanukkah
candles.
, London and a tourism project in Turkish Cyprus. Moussaieff is a contributing editor to the British society magazine Tatler
.
, on his 60th birthday. She has helped present Iceland
ic culture abroad, promoted Icelandic artists and identified foreign markets for Icelandic products. She is also active in raising money for disabled children.
after arguing with security personnel who refused to acknowledge her British passport
and told her that she was obliged by Israeli law to enter and exit the country using an Israeli passport
. The media related to the confrontation as a diplomatic incident. The Israeli Embassy in Norway
, which handles diplomatic relations with Iceland, expressed regret over the incident but restated the law that Israeli citizens must carry Israeli passports when in the country.
List of the Most Connected People in Britain. A local magazine in Reykjavik
chose her as one of the best-dressed women in Iceland. Moussaieff was also named Woman of 2006 by the popular Icelandic glossy magazine Nýtt Líf.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-born British jewellery designer, editor and businesswoman. She is the First Lady of Iceland
First Lady of Iceland
Wives and husbands of the presidents:*Georgia Björnsson wife of Sveinn Björnsson*Dóra Þórhallsdóttir wife of Ásgeir Ásgeirsson*Halldóra Eldjárn wife of Kristján Eldjárn*Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was not married...
, married to Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...
, president of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
Biography
Dorrit Moussaieff was born in Jerusalem to a wealthy Bukharian Jewish family from BukharaBukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. The Moussaieff family is part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great granddaughter of Shlomo Moussaieff
Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)
Shlomo Moussaieff was born in the city of Bukhara in 1852 in what is today Uzbekistan and was one of the founders of the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem...
. Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
. Her great grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of Yosef Maimon
Yosef Maimon
Rabbi Yosef ben Moshe Mammon Maravi is the spiritual leader credited with helping strengthen religious observance and introducing the Sephardic liturgy to the Bukharian Jewish community. The title Maaravi signifies his North African ancestry...
. Her father, Shlomo Moussaieff
Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman)
Shlomo Moussaieff is an Israeli millionaire of Bukharian Jewish descent who has lived in London since the early 1960s. He is the son of Rehavia Moussaieff, and grandson of Shlomo Moussaieff of Bukhara. He made most of his fortune by selling precious jewelry to international royalty and high...
, is a Bukharian Jew and her mother, Aliza is an Austrian Jew of Ashkenazi heritage, but Dorrit identifies more with the Bukharian culture and was raised by her father's large family.
Moussaieff was born and raised in the Bukharan Quarter
Bukharim
Bukharim is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel. Many of the residents of Shkhunat HaBukharim , as it is known, are Haredi Jews...
of Jerusalem. At thirteen, she moved with her family to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She suffered from dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and was home-schooled. In addition to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Hebrew, she also speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and some Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
.
Her first marriage to Neil Zarach, a designer, ended in divorce. In 2003, she married the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.
Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul," and continues to observe Jewish rituals, such as lighting Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
candles.
Business and media career
As a child, Moussaieff spent a lot of time in her family's jewellery store on Hilton Park Lane in London, and went on to become a successful jewellery designer. Other business ventures in which she has been involved are the construction of an office building at Canary WharfCanary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
, London and a tourism project in Turkish Cyprus. Moussaieff is a contributing editor to the British society magazine Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
.
First Lady of Iceland
In 2003, Moussaieff married Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, on his 60th birthday. She has helped present Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic culture abroad, promoted Icelandic artists and identified foreign markets for Icelandic products. She is also active in raising money for disabled children.
Controversy
In May 2006, while visiting Israel, Moussaieff was detained at Ben Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
after arguing with security personnel who refused to acknowledge her British passport
British passport
British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality, and are used as evidence of the bearer's nationality and immigration status within the United Kingdom or the issuing state/territory.-Issuing:...
and told her that she was obliged by Israeli law to enter and exit the country using an Israeli passport
Israeli passport
The Israeli passport is issued to citizens of the State of Israel for the purpose of international travel and entitles the bearer to the protection of Israel's consular officials overseas....
. The media related to the confrontation as a diplomatic incident. The Israeli Embassy in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, which handles diplomatic relations with Iceland, expressed regret over the incident but restated the law that Israeli citizens must carry Israeli passports when in the country.
Awards and honors
Moussaieff was listed third on the Harper's MagazineHarper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
List of the Most Connected People in Britain. A local magazine in Reykjavik
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
chose her as one of the best-dressed women in Iceland. Moussaieff was also named Woman of 2006 by the popular Icelandic glossy magazine Nýtt Líf.