In his dual status as President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and as President of the historic Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel has played a key role in advancing the agenda of Greek Jews and in tackling anti-Semitism.
He was first elected President of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki in 2001. He has been holding this position for 20 consecutive years. In 2010, in 2016 and 2019 respectively, David Saltiel was elected President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the umbrella organization of the Greek Jews, a position he still holds to this day. In 2013 he was elected Vice- President of the World Jewish Congress.
Saltiel has been envisioning and fighting for a strong Community. Through a wide range of activities, he has achieved landmark goals regarding Greek Jewish issues, such as: The foundation of the Holocaust Museum of Greece in Thessaloniki, the establishment of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, the foundation of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, the restitution of Jewish property, the compensation for the seized property, the welfare programmes for the Greek Jewish Holocaust, the adoption by Greece of the IHRA definition of Antisemitism, the evolution of Greek – Israeli relations.
His work has been internationally recognized and he has been decorated by Italy with the title of Cavaliere (2008) and the title of the “Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia” (2019), by France with the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor (2011), by the Federal Republic of Germany with the Cross of Merit (2017), by Spain with the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2018).
In 2020 Greece bestowed upon D. Satliel the medal of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix.
David Saltiel is a successful businessman. He is the proprietor of a chain of commercial shops in Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as of a hotel in Thessaloniki. He is a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of EURICOM Hellas, a rice processing company.
He was born in Athens on October 29, 1947. He studied watch making and gemology in Athens. He is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian and English.
He was married to the late Lukia Mallah-Saltiel. He has one daughter and three grandchildren.