David Dein

Dein began in business as a sugar trader. He was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 1983 and 2007. He was appointed when he bought a 16.6% share of the club for £292,000 from Peter Hill-Wood, Arsenal's chairman in September 1983. At the time of Dein's purchase in 1983, Hill-Wood described Dein as "crazy" to invest his money in the club, stating that "to all intents and purposes, it's dead money". Dein built up his shares until he owned 42% of the club in 1991. Over the next decade, debts incurred forced him to sell just short of a 30% stake to co-director Danny Fiszman for approximately £11m. By 2007, his remaining shares were believed to be worth in the region of £57 million to £65 million.

Dein was one of the architects of the Premier League in 1992, which re-shaped the structure and finances of English football. "I felt football was really a sleeping giant and had a long way to go," Dein said. "After seeing how the Americans operated their sport, particularly American football and baseball and basketball, I felt we were light years behind. We had so much more to give as an attraction." Greg Dyke, later the chairman of the FA, stressed the central role of Dein in the creation of the Premier League, saying: "David Dein was the most revolutionary bloke I've met in football. David Dein created the Premier League, it was his idea."

During his time at the club, he had an active role in the transfer of players and contract negotiations. Dein was behind the appointment of the little-known Arsène Wenger to the manager's job in 1996. Under Wenger, Arsenal won the Premier League three times and the FA Cup seven times, and Dein strongly backed him and his transfer plans.

Following the dismissal of George Graham in February 1995, he tried to convince his fellow board members to appoint Wenger as manager. They seemed reluctant to bring on board an unknown Frenchman managing in Japan and opted instead for Bruce Rioch. Following the dismissal of Rioch a year later, Dein again suggested that Wenger should be hired. His efforts proved successful and Wenger was appointed manager of Arsenal in October 1996. …

In 1986, Dein was voted onto the board of the Football League Management Committee, and subsequently achieved a place on the FA Council. He was also one of the major architects of the Premier League in 1992. He eventually rose to the position of vice-chairman of the FA in 2000, a post he held until 2004, when it was scrapped after a restructuring. He was subsequently re-elected to the FA Board as a Premier League representative.

Dein was a key mover in the FA's manoeuvering to hire Sven-Göran Eriksson as England manager in 2001. Five years later, in 2006, he was one of four members of an FA panel (the others being Brian Barwick, Noel White and Dave Richards) tasked with identifying Eriksson's replacement. Dein's preferred choice, Luiz Felipe Scolari, was offered the job and looked set to take it, but later changed his mind; the FA eventually chose Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren.

Dein sat on the FA Board until 2 June 2006 as one of four representatives of the Premier League clubs. He was replaced by David Gill, chief executive of Manchester United. This removal came one day after a news story broke on the BBC's Newsnight programme regarding possible infringements of FIFA rules regarding player transfers with, and loans to, Belgian club Beveren.

The FA compliance committee investigated the BBC's allegations but did not find any breach of FA or Premier League rules by Arsenal. On 30 June 2006, FIFA released a statement stating there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Arsenal in relation to its ties with Beveren.

Dein was the representative of the Premier League on UEFA's committee for club competitions, and a former member of the FA Council, having to step down from his position when he left Arsenal.

Dein was part of the founding committee, alongside Lord Ouseley, which established the 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football' campaign in 1993 (later Kick It Out).

Dein's dual roles as director of Arsenal and a senior member of the Football Association's executive led to accusations of conflicts of interest.

In 2005, Chelsea manager José Mourinho said: "A person who works in the club should not work in the FA. The FA is the FA and the club is the club"; he called on David Dein to resign. Mourinho's complaint related to the league programme apparently favouring Arsenal. …

Dein was appointed President of the G-14 in October 2006. At the time, several legal disputes between clubs and FIFA and national associations relating to the release of players for international matches were on-going. It led to an agreement on compensation for the release of players for international tournaments.

In February 2010, Dein was appointed International President of England's unsuccessful 2018 World Cup bid, responsible for lobbying members of FIFA's Executive Committee who picked the country which would stage the tournament. His experience in the game and his contacts at the highest levels of global football were seen as vital in England's chances of winning the bid.

Dein lives in Totteridge, north London, and has a large house in Mayfair. He has been married to his wife Barbara since 1972, and is the father to a daughter, Sasha Dein Fugazzola, and two sons Darren and Gavin Dein, and the grandfather to eight grandchildren. His first cousin is lawyer Jeremy Dein.

Dein's son, Darren, is a solicitor, and was Thierry Henry's best man. and his second son Gavin Dein, is the founder and CEO of Reward Insight who, in November 2020, sold a minority stake in his business in a deal worth over £100m.

Dein was chairman of the Theatre Investment Fund in England.

On 29 December 2018, Dein was awarded an MBE in the 2019 Queen's New Year honours list for his services to football and for voluntary work in school and prisons.