Eli Hurvitz ( he, אליהו "אלי" הורביץ, born 1932, died 21 November 2011) was an Israeli industrialist. He was the chairman of the board and former CEO of
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (also known as Teva Pharmaceuticals) is an Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel. It specializes primarily in generic drugs, but other business interests include ...
at the time of his death.
Biography
Eliyahu (Eli) Hurvitz was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, in the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
, in 1932. In 1934, his family moved to
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
. In May 1948, he and his classmates were drafted by the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
to fight in the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. In early 1949 he resumed his studies for five months and completed his matriculation (
Bagrut
Te'udat Bagrut (, ''lit.'' "maturity certificate", Arabic: شهادة بجروت) is a certificate that attests that a student has successfully passed Israel's high school matriculation examination. Bagrut is a prerequisite for higher education ...
) exams. After graduation, he joined kibbutz
Tel Katzir
Tel Katzir ( he, תֵּל קָצִיר, lit. "Harvest Hill") is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located to the south of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The ...
, where he met Dalia Solomon. In June 1953 they married, and they left the
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
in October.
Hurwitz studied economics at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
. He joined Assia Chemical Labs Ltd., a small firm of which Dalia's father was a managing partner, as a dishwasher in the laboratory.
After his graduation from Hebrew University in 1957 he began doing office work at Assia and moved to executive ranks. In 1964, Assia merged with Zori and in 1969 acquired a controlling interest in Teva. In 1976, the three firms merged into Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. with Hurvitz as the CEO. He resigned as CEO in 2002 and handed over the position to Israel Makov, and from then on until his death in 2011 had been the firm's chairman of the board.
Hurvitz served as chairman of the Israel Export Institute from 1974 to 1978. In 1981 he was made president of the
Israel Manufacturers Association, a position he held until 1986. From 1985 to 1986 he headed
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
' economic plan to fight the inflation, for which he was awarded the Industry Prize. In 1986 he was appointed chairman of the board of
Bank Leumi
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
. In 1987, he resigned after his name was associated with
Israel's bank stock crisis of 1983.
[
Hurvitz was chairman of the ]Jerusalem Development Authority
The Jerusalem Development Authority (), or JDA, is a joint agency of the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality that works to promote and develop the economy of the city of Jerusalem. The Authority was founded by Uziel Wexler and was es ...
from 1989 to 1992; a member of the advisory committee of the Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) is the central bank of Israel. The bank's headquarters is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Jerusalem with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Amir Yaron.
T ...
from 1991 to 1995; director of Koor Industries Ltd. from 1997 to 2004; and director of Magal Security System Ltd. from 1992 to 1994. He also served as chairman of the executive committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...
from 1989 to 1995. He has been a member of the board of governors of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
since 2001, a director of Vishay Technologies since 1997, and chair of the Israel Democracy Institute
Israel Democracy Institute (IDI; he, המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה), established in 1991, is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy. It is located in Jerusalem, ...
since 2002.
In March 1996 he was indicted on charges of an $18 million tax evasion in corporate taxes as head of a Teva subsidiary, Promedico. In 1998 he was convicted by the Jerusalem district court, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Israel in 2000.
Awards and honours
Hurvitz received honorary doctorates from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in 1990, the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1994, Ben-Gurion University
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
in 2002 and Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
in 2004.
In 2002, he received the Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
, for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State.
In 2005, Hurvitz was named Business Leader of the Decade by Dun & Bradstreet
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...
.
From 2002 to 2005 he served as a member of the international council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...
. In 2006, Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
estimated his wealth at $500 million and listed him as the 30th-richest Israeli.
In 2011, he received the honorary award of the Ariel University Center of Samaria
Ariel University ( he, אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank.
The college preced ...
. Horowitz received the award for his many years of promoting high-tech industry, economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
and society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...
in Israel.
See also
*List of Israel Prize recipients
This is a complete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 through to 2022.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurvitz, Eli
1932 births
2011 deaths
Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni
Israel Prize for lifetime achievement & special contribution to society recipients
Israeli chief executives
People from Jerusalem