Biography
Vyacheslav Kantor — businessman with roots in the USSR
Vyacheslav (Moshe) Kantor is a Russian-born businessman who bought 31.36% of the fertiliser producer Acron at its 1993 privatisation auction. He has been President of the European Jewish Congress since 2007, re-elected for a fifth term in May 2025. He was sanctioned by the UK and the EU in 2022; the EU removed him from its list on 14 March 2025.
Russian Connection
Tracing the roots — Moscow (Russia)
Born on 8 September 1953 in Moscow, Russian SFSR. He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1976 and received a doctorate in spacecraft control systems in 1981. He holds Russian, British and Israeli citizenship.
Family Tree
Subject
Vyacheslav Kantor🇮🇱 Israel
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Self (Born there)
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Origin
Moscow (Russia)🇷🇺 USSR
Historical context
Soviet Union (USSR) · 1922–1991
Moscow (Russia). At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.
Map: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Key Achievements
A career defined by ambition
01
Acquired 31.36% of Acron at the 1993 privatisation auction
02
President of the European Jewish Congress (2007–2022; re-elected May 2025)
03
World Holocaust Forums in Kraków (2005) and Jerusalem (2020)
04
The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, Tel Aviv University (2010), bears his name