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'''Dorrit Moussaieff''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: דורית מוסאיוף), (born [[12 January]] [[1950]]) is the [[Israeli]]-born [[United Kingdom|British]]-[[Icelandic]] [[First Lady of Iceland]], jewelry designer, editor, and businesswoman.
{{Short description|Israeli jewelry designer, editor and businesswoman (born 1950)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dorrit Moussaieff
| image = Dorrit Moussaieff (cropped).jpg
| caption = Moussaieff in 2012
| office = [[List of spouses and partners of Icelandic presidents|First Lady of Iceland]]
| president = [[Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson]]
| term_label = In role
| term_start = 14 May 2003
| term_end = 1 August 2016
| predecessor = [[Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir]]
| successor = [[Eliza Reid]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|1|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Neil Zarach||reason=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson]]|2003}}
}}
| children =
| citizenship = {{hlist|Israel|United Kingdom|Iceland}}
| parents = [[Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman)|Shlomo Moussaieff]] (father)
| relatives = [[Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)|Shlomo Moussaieff]] (great-grandfather)
}}


'''Dorrit Moussaieff''' ({{langx|he|דורית מוסאיוף}}, born 12 January 1950) is an Israeli jewellery designer, editor, and businesswoman who was the [[List of spouses and partners of Icelandic presidents|First Lady of Iceland]] from 2003 to 2016. Born in [[Israel]], she was raised in the [[United Kingdom]] from the age of 13.
==Early Life==
Moussaieff was born in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]], to a wealthy devout [[Bukharian Jew]]ish family from [[Uzbekistan]] that are part of a long dynasty of jewelers. She is the great granddaughter of [[Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)]] and is the second cousin of famous author [[Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson]] <ref>http://shlomomoussaieff.blogspot.com/2005/04/moussaieffs-fascinating-family.html</ref>. Her great grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was from [[Bukhara]] but had some [[Moroccan Jewish]] ancestry. Her father, [[Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman)]], is a Bukharian Jew but her mother, Aliza, is an [[History of Jews in Austria| Austrian Jew]] of [[Ashkenazi]] heritage. Dorrit was born and raised in the Bukharian Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem but when she was thirteen, her and her family moved to [[London]]. She suffered from [[dyslexia]] and didn't attend ordinary schools but was taught at home. In addition to English and Hebrew, she also learned to speak German, French, and the Icelandic language.


==Career==
==Biography==
Dorrit Moussaieff was born in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]. Her father, [[Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman)|Shlomo Moussaieff]], was from a wealthy [[Bukharian Jewish]] family from [[Bukhara]], [[Uzbekistan]], part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great-granddaughter of Rabbi [[Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)|Shlomo Moussaieff]]. Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name="haaretz.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/|title=Haaretz - Israel News|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref> Her great-grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of [[Yosef Maimon]]. Her mother, Alisa, is an [[History of Jews in Austria|Austrian Jew]] of [[Ashkenazi]] heritage, but Dorrit identifies more with [[Bukharan Jews|Bukharian culture]] and was raised by her father.
Dorrit became interested in jewelry at a very young age. She spent a lot of childhood years at her family's jewellery store and developed a love for designing. In her life, she has become a very successful jewlery designer and it made her very wealthy. She said, "At the age of 14 I started to work in my parents' jewelry shop at the Hilton Park Lane in London. I was very lonely. I had no friends at all. It was a hard time for me - all I did was sell jewelry. It's in my blood, you know; some people are artists or writers, but I am a jewelry salesperson in the blood, that's what I was born for." <ref>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=378212</ref> Moussaieff has been active in [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[United States|American]] cultural life. She is a contributing editor to British society magazine ''[[Tatler]]''


Moussaieff was born and raised in the [[Bukharim|Bukharan Quarter]] of Jerusalem. At age 13, she moved with her family to [[London]]. She had [[dyslexia]] and was home-schooled. In addition to [[English language|English]] and [[Hebrew]], she also speaks [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].<ref name="haaretz.com"/><ref>name=[http://www.visir.is/island-er-storasta-land-i-heimi/article/2008695803619 "Ísland er stórasta land í heimi"]</ref>
She participates in other business transactions as well. She was a part of an organization that had constructed an office building at [[Canary Wharf]], [[London]]. They made an estimated profit of 25 million pounds. They are now involved in a tourism projecy in the Turkish part of Cyprus. <ref>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=378212</ref>

Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul"<ref name="haaretz.com"/> and continues to observe [[Jewish]] rituals, such as lighting [[Hanukkah]] candles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shlomomoussaieff.blogspot.com//2005/04/from-bukhara-to-iceland-dorrit.html|title=Shlomomoussaieff|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> Other business ventures in which she has been involved are the construction of an office building at [[Canary Wharf]], London and a tourism project in [[Northern Cyprus]].<ref name="haaretz.com"/> Moussaieff is a contributing editor to the British society magazine ''[[Tatler (1901)|Tatler]]''.


==First Lady of Iceland==
==First Lady of Iceland==
In 2003, Moussaieff married President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.forseti.is/Index/TheFirstLady/DorritMoussaieff/|title=Dorrit Moussaieff|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503014354/http://english.forseti.is/Index/TheFirstLady/DorritMoussaieff/|archive-date=3 May 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Moussaieff married [[Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson]], president of [[Iceland]] on his 60th birthday. She is the current [[First Lady of Iceland]] and has likely become the most significant [[Jew]] in Icelandic history. In recent years, she has helped present [[Iceland|Icelandic]] culture abroad.


==Personal Life==
==Controversy==
In May 2006, while visiting Israel, Moussaieff was detained at [[Ben Gurion International Airport]] 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 her [[Israeli passport]]. The media related the confrontation as a diplomatic incident.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3266229,00.html|title=Iceland president's wife delayed at Ben-Gurion Airport|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=22 June 2006|access-date=15 June 2016|last1=Eichner|first1=Itamar}}</ref> The Israeli Embassy in [[Norway]], which handles diplomatic relations with Iceland, expressed regret over the incident and restated the law that [[Israeli citizen]]s must carry Israeli passports when in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grapevine.is/news/|title=News Archives|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref> Following the incident she applied for [[Icelandic nationality law|Icelandic citizenship]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Dorrit Moussaieff tvívegis í vandræðum í Ísrael á einum mánuði |url=https://www.visir.is/g/200660511064 |access-date=23 August 2019 |work=[[Vísir.is]] |date=11 May 2006 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> which she received on 31 July 2006.<ref>{{cite news |title=Íslendingar vanmeta Ísland |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3905198 |access-date=23 August 2019 |work=[[Fréttablaðið]] |date=1 August 2006 |pages=1, 6 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>
Moussaieff married twice. The first, was with a Jewish designer named Neil Zarak, but they got divorced. Dorrit did not remarry for the next 30 years until she married the President of Iceland [[Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson]].


In 2016, leaked files linked Moussaieff to [[Tax haven|offshore companies and trusts]], suggesting that she may have been evading paying her taxes. Her lawyers claimed that, "her business interests were always carried out legally and they were a private matter."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bowers|first=Simon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/may/02/iceland-presidents-wife-linked-to-offshore-tax-havens-in-leaked-files|title=Iceland president's wife linked to offshore tax havens in leaked files|date=2 May 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=19 February 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Dorrit says that she's "religious in the soul" and she still follows some aspects of [[Judaism]]. For example, on the eve of [[Hannukkah]], she remembered that she was supposed to light the first candle of the [[menorah]]. A menorah was found for her and after lighting the candle, she taught her husband about the holiday. <ref>http://shlomomoussaieff.blogspot.com/2005/04/from-bukhara-to-iceland-dorrit.html</ref>
In May [[2006]], while visiting [[Israel]], Moussaieff was detained at [[Ben Gurion International Airport]] in [[Tel Aviv]]. According to reports, Moussaieff got into an argument with security personnel who refused to acknowledge her British passport. Immigration officers stated that she was obliged by Israeli law to enter and exit the country using her Israeli passport only, or face prosecution. When Moussaieff could not produce an Israeli passport, it is alleged that staff became rude and aggressive, asking her suggestive, personal and racist questions. Moussaieff reportedly responded with various insults of her own by saying, "This is about to become a serious diplomatic incident. This is why everyone hates Jews." Part of the incident was captured on film and shown on Israeli television. This caused a minor international incident since it involved the [[first lady]] of [[Iceland]]. <ref>http://www.grapevine.is/news.aspx?id=1486</ref> The Israeli Embassy in [[Norway]], which handles diplomatic ties with Iceland, later expressed regret over the incident, though it restated the law that Israeli citizens must carry their Israeli passports when in the country.<ref>http://www.grapevine.is/news.aspx?cGroupid=2&id=1488</ref> Moussaieff carries an [[Israeli]] and a [[United Kingdom|British]] citizenship and received Icelandic citizenship on [[31 July]] [[2006]].


==Awards and honors==
Many Icelandic people did not like the way that their First Lady was treated by the Israeli workers at the airport. They said, "It was a shock to us to hear how Dorrit Moussaieff was treated, especially since she has been active in introducing Jewish culture in our country in a very positive way." <ref>http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//903179&tb=/i/7276770</ref>
===Honours===
====Foreign honours====
* Sweden: Member Grand Cross of the [[Royal Order of the Polar Star]]<ref>[https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQP15eoieCU/VxbYQGD8edI/AAAAAAAAiUw/u8bw_NWpCd4qJBjBg4kh85kEES7lApNNgCLcB/s1600/2016-04-20-2.jpg Image] bp.blogspot.com {{better source|date=March 2024}}</ref>
* Sweden: Recipient of the [[Swedish Royal Jubilee Commemorative Medals|Ruby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf]]<ref>[http://c7.alamy.com/comp/DEAP3X/icelands-president-olafur-ragnar-grimsson-his-wife-dorrit-moussaieff-DEAP3X.jpg Image] alamy.com {{better source|date=March 2024}}</ref>
* Sweden: Recipient of the [[Swedish Royal Jubilee Commemorative Medals|70th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf]]<ref>[http://static1.purepeople.com/articles/5/18/22/75/@/2259730-dorrit-moussaieff-les-invites-du-roi-c-950x0-1.jpg Image] purepeople.com {{better source|date=March 2024}}</ref>


==References==
===Awards===
Moussaieff was listed third on the ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' List of the Most Connected People in Britain.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> A local magazine in [[Reykjavík]] chose her as one of the best-dressed women in Iceland.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> Moussaieff was also named Woman of 2006 by the popular Icelandic glossy magazine ''Nýtt Líf''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grapevine.is/|title=The Reykjavik Grapevine - Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in Iceland|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Moussaieff's first husband was Neil Zarach, a Jewish designer, and they ended in divorce.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Procter|first=Jane|title=The Ice Queen cometh|newspaper=[[The Times]]|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ice-queen-cometh-h69hwcmh2tz|access-date=2021-10-03|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In 2003, Moussaieff married the [[President of Iceland]], Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, on his birthday, 14 May 2003, following an engagement of three years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.forseti.is/TheFirstLady/DorritMoussaieff/ |title=Dorrit Moussaieff |access-date=15 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413011510/http://english.forseti.is/TheFirstLady/DorritMoussaieff |archive-date=13 April 2016}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{start box}}
{{succession box | before=[[Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir]] | title=[[First Lady of Iceland]] | years=2003&ndash;''Present'' | after=''Present''}}


==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{fashiondesigner|id=dorrit-moussaieff}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of spouses and partners of Icelandic presidents|First Lady of Iceland]]|years=2003–2016}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Eliza Reid]]}}
{{s-end}}


{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moussaieff Dorit}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moussaieff, Dorit}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:First Ladies of Iceland]]
[[Category:Judaism and women]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Bukharan Jews]]
[[Category:Bukharan Jews]]
[[Category:Spouses and partners of presidents of Iceland|Dorrit Moussaieff]] <!-- Icelandic category, sort by first name -->
[[Category:British jewellery designers]]
[[Category:British magazine editors]]
[[Category:British women in business]]
[[Category:British people of Israeli descent]]
[[Category:Austrian Jews]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:Israeli Jews]]
[[Category:Icelandic Jews]]
[[Category:Icelandic Jews]]
[[Category:Mizrahi Jews]]
[[Category:Icelandic people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Israeli jewellery designers]]

[[Category:Israeli people of Austrian-Jewish descent]]

[[Category:Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent]]

[[Category:Israeli emigrants to Iceland]]
[[is:Dorrit Moussaieff]]
[[Category:Icelandic people of Uzbekistani descent]]
[[he:דורית מוסאיוף]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[no:Dorrit Moussaieff]]
[[Category:Israeli Mizrahi Jews]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Jerusalem]]
[[Category:People with dyslexia]]
[[Category:People named in the Panama Papers]]
[[Category:Women magazine editors]]
[[Category:Women jewellers]]
[[Category:English people with disabilities]]
[[Category:Icelandic people with disabilities]]
[[Category:Israeli people with disabilities]]
[[Category:Artists with disabilities]]
[[Category:British artists with disabilities]]
[[Category:21st-century Israeli Jews]]
[[Category:Artists from Jerusalem]]

Latest revision as of 20:26, 22 December 2024

Dorrit Moussaieff
Moussaieff in 2012
First Lady of Iceland
In role
14 May 2003 – 1 August 2016
PresidentÓlafur Ragnar Grímsson
Preceded byGuðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir
Succeeded byEliza Reid
Personal details
Born (1950-01-12) 12 January 1950 (age 74)
Jerusalem, Israel
Citizenship
  • Israel
  • United Kingdom
  • Iceland
Spouses
Neil Zarach
​
(divorced)​
​
​
(m. 2003)​
ParentShlomo Moussaieff (father)
RelativesShlomo Moussaieff (great-grandfather)

Dorrit Moussaieff (Hebrew: דורית מוסאיוף, born 12 January 1950) is an Israeli jewellery designer, editor, and businesswoman who was the First Lady of Iceland from 2003 to 2016. Born in Israel, she was raised in the United Kingdom from the age of 13.

Biography

[edit]

Dorrit Moussaieff was born in Jerusalem, Israel. Her father, Shlomo Moussaieff, was from a wealthy Bukharian Jewish family from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great-granddaughter of Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff. Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of Genghis Khan.[1] Her great-grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of Yosef Maimon. Her mother, Alisa, is an Austrian Jew of Ashkenazi heritage, but Dorrit identifies more with Bukharian culture and was raised by her father.

Moussaieff was born and raised in the Bukharan Quarter of Jerusalem. At age 13, she moved with her family to London. She had dyslexia and was home-schooled. In addition to English and Hebrew, she also speaks German, French, and Icelandic.[1][2]

Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul"[1] and continues to observe Jewish rituals, such as lighting Hanukkah candles.[3]

Business and media career

[edit]

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.[1] Other business ventures in which she has been involved are the construction of an office building at Canary Wharf, London and a tourism project in Northern Cyprus.[1] Moussaieff is a contributing editor to the British society magazine Tatler.

First Lady of Iceland

[edit]

In 2003, Moussaieff married President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson on his 60th birthday. She has helped present Icelandic culture abroad, promoted Icelandic artists and identified foreign markets for Icelandic products. She is also active in raising money for disabled children.[4]

Controversy

[edit]

In May 2006, while visiting Israel, Moussaieff was detained at Ben Gurion International Airport 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 her Israeli passport. The media related the confrontation as a diplomatic incident.[5] The Israeli Embassy in Norway, which handles diplomatic relations with Iceland, expressed regret over the incident and restated the law that Israeli citizens must carry Israeli passports when in the country.[6] Following the incident she applied for Icelandic citizenship[7] which she received on 31 July 2006.[8]

In 2016, leaked files linked Moussaieff to offshore companies and trusts, suggesting that she may have been evading paying her taxes. Her lawyers claimed that, "her business interests were always carried out legally and they were a private matter."[9]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Honours

[edit]

Foreign honours

[edit]

Awards

[edit]

Moussaieff was listed third on the Harper's Magazine List of the Most Connected People in Britain.[1] A local magazine in Reykjavík chose her as one of the best-dressed women in Iceland.[1] Moussaieff was also named Woman of 2006 by the popular Icelandic glossy magazine Nýtt Líf.[13]

Personal life

[edit]

Moussaieff's first husband was Neil Zarach, a Jewish designer, and they ended in divorce.[14] In 2003, Moussaieff married the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, on his birthday, 14 May 2003, following an engagement of three years.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Haaretz - Israel News". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ^ name="Ísland er stórasta land í heimi"
  3. ^ "Shlomomoussaieff". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Dorrit Moussaieff". Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  5. ^ Eichner, Itamar (22 June 2006). "Iceland president's wife delayed at Ben-Gurion Airport". Ynetnews. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  6. ^ "News Archives". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Dorrit Moussaieff tvívegis í vandræðum í Ísrael á einum mánuði". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 11 May 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Íslendingar vanmeta Ísland". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 1 August 2006. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ^ Bowers, Simon (2 May 2016). "Iceland president's wife linked to offshore tax havens in leaked files". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  10. ^ Image bp.blogspot.com [better source needed]
  11. ^ Image alamy.com [better source needed]
  12. ^ Image purepeople.com [better source needed]
  13. ^ "The Reykjavik Grapevine - Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in Iceland". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  14. ^ Procter, Jane. "The Ice Queen cometh". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Dorrit Moussaieff". Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Dorrit Moussaieff.
Honorary titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir 		First Lady of Iceland
2003–2016 		Succeeded by
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