Simha Erlich ( he, שמחה ארליך, 15 December 1915https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1983/06/21/mort-de-m-simha-erlich-president-du-parti-liberal-et-vice-premier-ministre-la-derniere-colombe-du-cabinet-begin_3076910_1819218.html – 19 June 1983) was an Israeli politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

under

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

, and is known for his attempt to liberalize the

Israeli economy The economy of Israel is a developed free-market economy. The prosperity of Israel's advanced economy allows the country to have a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful modern military said to possess a nuclear-weapons capability, modern in ...

Biography

Erlich was born in 1915 in

Bachów Bachów ( uk, Бахів) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krzywcza, within Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Krzywcza, west of Przemyśl, and south-east of t ...

, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, today

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and was a member of the

General Zionists The General Zionists ( he, הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים, translit. ''HaTzionim HaKlaliym'') were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann an ...

youth movement. He immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1938 and worked as a farmer in Nes Ziona. He studied

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

and founded a lens factory. In 1955 he was elected 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 ...

city council, and became a member of the Liberal Party. In 1969 he quit the city council and was elected to the Knesset on the

Gahal Gahal ( he, גח"ל, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until ...

list (Gahal being a coalition between the Liberal Party and

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 ...

). In 1976 he was elected chairman of the Liberal Party.Simha Erlich
Likud 1 After the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

he was appointed Finance Minister and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. As Minister of Finance he tried to cause an economic upheaval in Israel by abolishing foreign currency regulations and travel tax, as well as cheapening imported goods. It soon turned out that Israel's economy was not prepared for such a drastic change, as could be seen by the subsequent deterioration of the balance of payments, the mass increase of goods import and sharp rise of inflation rate. Consequently, Erlich was forced to resign as Minister of Finance, but remained Deputy Prime Minister and was in charge of the development of the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

, the Arab sector and re-absorption of emigrants. After the 1981 elections Erlich was appointed

Agriculture Minister 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 f ...

and remained Deputy Prime Minister. He died in 1983.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erlich, Simcha 1915 births 1983 deaths People from Przemyśl County People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Gahal politicians Likud politicians Liberal Party (Israel) leaders General Zionists politicians Ministers of Agriculture of Israel Ministers of Finance of Israel Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984)