Joseph Edward Sieff known as Teddy Sieff, was a British businessman and Zionist

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

. He was chairman of retailer Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer

Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...

 and honorary vice-president of the British Zionist Federation.

Sieff worked at M&S for much of his career, as did his brother Israel Sieff

Israel Sieff

Israel Moses Sieff, Baron Sieff was a British businessman.He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Manchester University. One of the theatres at the Manchester Grammar School is named in his honour....

. Teddy succeeded Israel as Chairman in 1967, serving until 1972. He was succeeded as Chairman by Israel's son Marcus Sieff.

In 1973 Teddy Sieff survived an assassination attempt by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...

. On 30 December PFLP assassin Carlos the Jackal

Carlos the Jackal

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....

 called on Sieff's home on Queen's Grove in St John's Wood

St John's Wood

St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...

 and ordered the butler to take him to Sieff. Finding Sieff in the bathroom, Carlos fired one bullet at Sieff from his 9mm Beretta

Beretta

Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...

 pistol, which bounced off Sieff's dentures

Dentures

Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...

and knocked him unconscious; the gun then jammed and Carlos fled.