Peretz Naftali (Hebrew: פרץ נפתלי, born Fritz Naftali, 19 March 1888 – 30 April 1961) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician who served in several ministerial portfolios in the 1950s.
Biography [edit]
Born in Berlin in Germany, Naftali joined the Social Democratic Party in 1911. He served in the German Army between 1911 and 1912, after which he started to work as a journalist on economic affairs, returning to the army for a spell in 1917–18 to fight in World War I. In 1921 he became editor of the economics department of the Frankfurter Zeitung, a post he held until 1926, when he became head of the eonomic research department of a trade union. In 1921 he also published a book, How to read the Economic Section of the Newspaper, which was a bestseller.[1]
In 1925 he had joined the Zionism movement, and in 1931 was a delegate to the Zionist Congress. He made aliyah in 1933, initially working as a lecturer at the Technion, before becoming director general of Bank Hapoalim in 1938, a post he held until 1949. Between 1941 and 1948 he served as a member of the Assembly of Representatives.
He was elected to the Knesset in 1949 on Mapai's list. After being re-elected in 1951, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in David Ben-Gurion's government. In June 1952 he became Minister of Agriculture, a role he held until the 1955 elections, after which he reverted to being a Minister without Portfolio. In January 1959 he became Minister of Welfare, but lost his Knesset seat and place in the cabinet in the 1959 elections.
Literature [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
| Persondata |
| Name |
Naftali, Peretz |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Israeli politician |
| Date of birth |
19 March 1888 |
| Place of birth |
Berlin, Germany |
| Date of death |
30 April 1961 |
| Place of death |
|
