|
Ephraim Katzir
|
|
![]() |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| In office 24 May 1973 – 19 April 1978 |
|
| Preceded by | Zalman Shazar |
| Succeeded by | Yitzhak Navon |
|
|
|
| Born | 16 May 1916 Kiev, Russian Empire |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Political party | Israeli Labor Party |
| Spouse | Nina Gottlieb |
Ephraim Katzir (born Ephraim Katchalsky on 16 May 1916) is an Israeli biophysicist and former Israeli Labor Party politician. He served as the President of Israel for a five-year term, from 1973 until 1978.
Katzir was born in Kiev in the Russian Empire (today in Ukraine). In 1925 he immigrated with his family to Palestine. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he received a Ph.D. degree. After studying abroad, he returned to Israel and became head of the Department of Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. In 1966 he became Chief Scientist of the Israel Defense Forces. His brother Aharon, an internationally renowned chemical physicist, was murdered in 1972 during the Lod Airport Massacre.
Katzir was at Harvard University when Golda Meir contacted him about being the President of Israel. Once elected president, he adopted a Hebrew surname, Katzir.
In 1977, Katzir was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. In 1985, he was awarded the Japan Prize.
|
||||||||||