Michael Dekel ( he, מיכאל דקל, 1 August 1920 – 20 September 1994) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sha ...

between 1977 and 1988.

Biography

Dekel was born in

Pińsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pins ...

, Poland (now in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

). During World War II he served in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

between 1943 and 1944, and then the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

from 1944 until 1946. After the war, he became commander of a Betar group in a

Displaced Persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...

in Austria, and was also amongst the leaders of the Austrian

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

branch. In 1949 he made aliyah to Israel. The following year he joined moshav

Nordia Nordia ( he, נוֹרְדִיָּה) is a moshav shitufi in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Netanya and the HaSharon Junction, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . Hist ...

, which had been founded by former Irgun members. He also became a member of the

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

party, and in 1966 became a member of its directorate and central committee. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list (an alliance of Herut and other right-wing parties). He was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, and was appointed Deputy

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

on 11 August that year.Michael Dekel: Public Activities
Knesset website He was re-elected again in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense on 3 December 1985. He held the post until 21 November 1988, three weeks after losing his seat in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

. He died in 1994 at the age of 74.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekel, Michael 1920 births 1988 deaths People from Pinsk Soviet military personnel of World War II Polish military personnel of World War II Betar members Irgun members Tel Aviv University alumni Polish emigrants to Israel Belarusian emigrants to Israel Herut politicians Likud politicians Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Deputy ministers of Israel