Topawardfor RabbiSacks— and£1.1mprize

EMERITUS CHIEF Rabbi Lord Sacks has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Lord Jakobovits, as well as the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, by being named this year’s recipient of the internationally-renowned Templeton Prize.

The accolade, announced in London on Wednesday, is presented every year by the philanthropic John Templeton Foundation to a person who has made “an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension”.

It carries a cash prize of £1.1 million — said to be one of the world’s largest financial awards given to an individual.

Lord Sacks said he was “very humbled” by the honour, which makes him the third Jewish recipient of the award in its 45-year history. Lord Jakobovits won in 1991 and philanthropist Sir Sigmund Sternberg in 1998.

Lord Sacks said: “This is a way of saying that the Jewish voice is valued in the global conversation about the future.

“This is good for us as a community, and this is as much an award for me as it is for Jewish teachings over the centuries. It is just a privilege to be a voice of that.”

The prize will be presented at a ceremony in May.

The Templeton Foundation said Lord Sacks had “revitalised” British Jewry during his time as Chief Rabbi.

“During his tenure he built a network of organisations that introduced a Jewish focus in areas including business, women’s issues and education, and urged British Jewry to turn outward to share the ethics of their faith with the broader community,” the foundation said in a statement.

Lord Sacks said he had “tried to create respect for a religious voice in the public conversation”.

He will use the prize money to continue“encouragingconversationsbetween faiths and reaching out to young people to take on roles of leadership within the Jewish community and beyond”.

“The task now is global,” Lord Sacks said. “This prize will certainly enable me to intensify and extend my work.”