Professor Yair Sprinzak ( he, יאיר שפרינצק, 8 November 1911 – 6 September 1999) was an Israeli scientist and politician who served as a

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

Moledet Moledet ( he, מולדת, ''Homeland'') was a minor right-wing political party in Israel. History Moledet was established by Rehavam Ze'evi in 1988. It won two seats in the Knesset elections later that year, taken by Ze'evi and Yair Sprinzak. ...

between 1988 and 1992.

Biography

Born in

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 ...

during the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, Sprinzak went to high school in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and studied chemistry at the University of Brussels. He worked as a senior researcher in the organic chemistry department at the

Weizmann Institute 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 univ ...

before becoming a professor at

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 ...

. He was particularly involved in work on desalinisation.

Political career

His father,

Yosef Sprinzak Yosef Sprinzak ( he, יוֹסֵף שְׁפְּרִינְצָק; ) was a leading Zionist activist in the first half of the 20th century, an Israeli politician, and the first Speaker of the Knesset, a role he held from 1949 until his death in 1959. ...

, was a politician in the early days of the state, and was a member of the Knesset for the left-wing

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

, as well as being the first Knesset speaker. In contrast, Yair became involved in right-wing politics, joining the

Movement for Greater Israel The Movement for Greater Israel ( he, התנועה למען ארץ ישראל השלמה, ''HaTenu'a Lema'an Eretz Yisrael HaSheleima'', officially called themselves in English ''Land of Israel Movement'') was a political organisation in Israel du ...

and becoming a member of its directorate. He was active in the

Tehiya Tehiya ( he, תחיה, ''Revival''), originally known as Banai (Hebrew: , an acronym for ''Land of Israel Loyalists' Alliance'' (Hebrew: )), then Tehiya-Bnai (Hebrew: ), was an ultranationalist political party in Israel. The party existed from 1 ...

party, and was one of the founders of

in 1988. In the same year he was elected to the Knesset on Moledet's list. Having been elected at the age of 76, Sprinzak was at the time the oldest person ever elected to the Knesset for the first time. This record was broken by

Rafi Eitan Rafael Eitan ( he, רפי איתן; 23 November 1926 – 23 March 2019) was an Israeli politician and intelligence officer. He also led Gil and served as Minister of Senior Citizens. He was in charge of the Mossad operation that led to the ar ...

, who was elected at the age of 79 in the 2006 election. As the eldest member of Knesset, Sprinzak also served temporarily as Speaker of the Knesset until a permanent replacement could be elected. Because of his hawkish views, a number of Knesset members refused to appear during his tenure. However, he lost his seat in the 1992 election. He died in 1999 at the age of 87.

External links

* 1911 births 1999 deaths People from Tel Aviv Israeli chemists Israeli educators Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Movement for Greater Israel politicians Tehiya politicians Moledet politicians Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) {{israel-politician-stub