Born in 1927, John Davan Sainsbury was educated at Stowe School and at Worcester College, Oxford, where he was made an Honorary Fellow in 1982.
In 1950 he entered the family business, J Sainsbury plc, becoming a Director in 1958. He was appointed Vice Chairman in 1967 and Chairman in 1969, retiring in 1992, when he was made Life President.
As well as his business career and long-standing support for the Party, Lord Sainsbury has a passionate interest in opera, ballet and the visual arts.
He was knighted in 1980, created a Life Peer, as Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover in 1989 and a Knight of the Garter in 1992.