1868 - 1945.
Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett, was a British industrialist, politician, and Zionist activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Alfred Mond played a significant role in the chemical industry's development. He was involved in the family business, Brunner Mond & Company. This business later merged to form Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), one of the largest chemical companies in the world.
In addition to his industrial pursuits, Mond entered politics and became a Member of Parliament. He held various government positions, including Minister of Health and First Commissioner of Works.
In recognition of his achievements, Mond was elevated to Baron Melchett in 1928.
Alfred Mond was also a fervent Zionist supporter.
Due to his close relationship with Arthur Balfour, he helped shape the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which advocated for a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
In 1921, he visited the Land of Israel, under British rule at that time, with Chaim Weizmann.
In 1925 he was appointed as a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem which had just been established, headed by Weizmann.
Mond contributed financially to the Jewish Colonization Corporation and became President of the British Zionist Foundation.
In 1928, with the help of other British investors, he purchased 2,500 dunams of agricultural land in the Sharon area, north of Kfar Saba. An agricultural settlement was established and called Tel Mond.
He also built Villa Melchett on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. You can learn more about this house in this YouTube video.
Mond's significant contribution to Zionism was his active support for Pinhas Rutenberg. Rutenberg received exclusive concessions from the British Government for electricity production and distribution in Palestine. Mond played a key role on the Palestine Electric Company Board, advocating for its interests in London's political and industrial circles.
Mond's legacy is commemorated in Israeli cities, includig Tel Aviv, with streets named.
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