William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart Commander of the Order of the British Empire is a British entrepreneur, publisher and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry.
Background
Born in 1960, son of barrister Paul Sieghart, a human rights lawyer, campaigner, broadcaster and author, and Felicity Ann Sieghart, chairman of the National Association for Gifted Children, magistrate and later managing director of the Aldeburgh Cinema, William is the older brother of Mary Ann Sieghart.
Education
He was educated at Eton and Street Anne"s College, Oxford.
Career
He is the current chairman of the Somerset House Trust. He is the author of a book on golf, The Swing Factory. Sieghart presented a weekly television programme for Bloomberg for three years.
His interests include foreign travel and cricket.
In addition to his work in poetry and the Middle East, Sieghart also founded Big Arts Week and Street Smart, the initiative whereby diners give a percentage of their restaurant bill to the homeless. Sieghart is Chairman of the Arts Foundation, and a trustee of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Free Word Centre and Reprieve.
Sieghart also takes an interest in the Middle East. Forward Thinking works both in the United Kingdom and the Middle East.
Membership
He was a member of Arts Council England 2000-2006, and was chairman of its Lottery Panel.