In his dual status as Chairman of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and as Chairman of the historic Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel has played a key role in advancing the agenda of Greek Jews and in tackling racism and anti-Semitism.
Since 2001, when he was first elected Chairman of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, and for 24 consecutive years, he has been envisioning and fighting for a strong Community, a community that would regain its former glory following its near annihilation during the period of the Nazi occupation. In 2010, 2016, 2019 and in 2022 he was elected Chairman of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the supreme body of the Jewish Community in Greece, a position he still holds to this day. In recognition of his work, in 2013 he was elected Vice-Chairman of the World Jewish Congress and in 2021 he was appointed Representative on Restitutions Issues of the European Jewish Congress. Since 2022 he has been serving as President of the Holocaust Museum of Greece, for the construction of which he plays a leading role.
Through a wide range of activities, David Saltiel has succeeded in highlighting key issues concerning Greek Jews, such as the inclusion of Greek survivors of the Holocaust in the Compensation Scheme under Article 2-Fund of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in 2002 and the adoption by the Greek Parliament of the Remembrance Day of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust in 2004. In March 2004, following an official invitation, David Saltiel visited the United States, where he met with members of Congress, Senators, officials of the State Department as well as representatives of Greek-American and American-Jewish organizations.
In 2002, he took the initiative to organize the burial in Thessaloniki of the bones of Colonel Mordechai Frizis, who was the first senior officer to be killed in the Greek-Italian war and a symbol of the hundreds of Greek Jews who fell for their homeland. He has succeeded in obtaining recognition for the expropriation of the old Jewish cemetery and payment of compensation to the Community, as well as proof that the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki paid ransom to free its members from forced labor prior to their deportation to Auschwitz. In cooperation with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, he succeeded in having two monuments erected within the University campus and achieved the reopening of the Chair of Jewish Studies. Moreover, during his tenure the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki has more than doubled its spaces, and has become the largest private Museum in the city.
His work has been internationally recognized and he has been honored with the title of Cavaliere by the President of the Italian Republic in 2008, the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French Republic in 2011, the Cross of Merit of the Order of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2017 as well as the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by His Majesty the King of Spain in 2018. In 2019 he was honored with the title of Ufficiale dell' Ordine della Stella d'Italia - Officer of the Star of Italy – an honor bestowed upon prominent personalities for their contribution to the development of business and cultural relations between Italy and other countries. In 2020, he was awarded with the medal of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix, by H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios V. Pavlopoulos. In 2022 he was decorated by the French Republic with the title of “Officier de la légion d'honneur”.
In July 2022, David Saltiel was awarded by the Chancellor of the University of Bolton, Earl of St Andrews, George Nicholas Philip Windsor, in the presence of the President and Chancellor of the University of Bolton, Professor George Holmes, an Honorary PhD by the University of Bolton in acknowledgment of his outstanding business and social contributions. In March 2025, the International Hellenic University (IHU) awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of the School of Science and Technology in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the social sector, the business sector, culture and education, as well as for his leading role in combating racism and anti-Semitism.
He is the proprietor of a chain of commercial shops in Athens and Thessaloniki. He is a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of EURICOM Hellas, a company founded in collaboration with EURICOM ITALIA S.P.A, which owns a rice processing plant in Halastra, near Thessaloniki. David Saltiel is also involved in the tourist industry. The first hotel belonging to DAVITEL S.A. opened in Thessaloniki in 2005.
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 Loukia Mallah-Saltiel. He has one daughter and three grandchildren.