Lord Finkelstein has been announced as one of the four newly appointed vice-presidents of the Jewish Leadership Council.

Lord Kestenbaum, Baroness Neuberger and Lord Palmer will also join the communal body for an initial three year term.

They will join seven other high-profile JLC vice-presidents, who were reappointed at a council meeting in central London on Thursday evening.

They include: businessmen Leo Noe, Sir Trevor Chinn, Sir Victor Blank, barrister Henry Grunwald, Lord Leigh, Lord Woolf and Michele Vogel.

The formal announcement came after less than six months of discussions.

Following the appointment, Lord Finkelstein, who is associate editor of the Times, said: “It is a great pleasure to serve as a vice-president to the JLC. The Jewish community is wide and diverse and I am pleased I will be able to offer my expertise in my new role.”

Lord Kestenbaum, chief operating officer of investment group RIT Capital Partners, who speaks in the House of Lords on Economic Affairs and Innovation, said: “The institutions that make up the JLC are the fabric of the Jewish community, it is an honour and privilege to be in position to assist them.”

West London Synagogue’s senior rabbi Baroness Neuberger said: “I am much looking forward to contributing to the work of the JLC and its members, and am honoured to have been nominated.”

Lord Palmer, personal adviser on the Middle East to Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, said: “I have worked with the Jewish community for many years and I am pleased that my new role will allow me to contribute directly to the many institutions of the community.”

While the majority of JLC council members represent communal organisations across the British Jewish community – a JLC spokesman explained that vice-presidents are appointed to advise the organisation’s trustees and council of membership.

JLC Board of Trustees Chairman Sir Mick Davis said: “It is really important for the JLC to have Vice Presidents who enrich and enhance our community. They are a resource that we can all use to ensure that our community continues to be vibrant, safe and secure.”