1907 - 1975
Israeli Labor party leader, minister of finance.
Pinhas Sapir, born in Poland as Koslovsky, received a religious education as a child and later became a leader in the ha-Halutz movement.
In 1929 he immigrated to Palestine. From 1937 to 1947 Pinhas Sapir was Levi Eshkol's deputy at Mekorot Water Company. Later Pinhas Sapir served in a number of high government and cabinet positions including director general of the Ministry of Defense (1948 - 1953) and director general of the Ministry of Finance (1953 - 1955). He was minister of commerce and industry from 1955 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1972. He also served as minister of finance from 1963 to 1968 and again from 1969 to 1974.
He was known to be a power broker within the Labor party and played an active role in uncovering the details of the Lavon affair (1960 - 1961). As finance minister after the Arab - Israel War of 1967, he expressed reservations about Moshe Dayan's proposals for integrating the occupied territories with Israel. He was suggested as a successor to Golda Meir, after her resignation as prime minister in 1974, but he refused the offer. He left the government in 1974 to become chairman of the Jewish Agency executive.
— MARTIN MALIN
