David Horowitz

Who was David Horowitz?

David Horowitz was an Israeli economist and the first Governor of the Bank of Israel. He was born in Drohobych, in Galicia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now in Ukraine. He came to Israel in 1920 and was one of the first members of Hashomer Hatzair. He served as the director of the Economic Department of the Jewish Agency for Israel and was a member of the Jewish Agency delegation to the United Nations in 1947. From May 1948 to June 1952, he was the first head of the Israeli Ministry of Finance.

In 1954, he founded the Bank of Israel and served as its Governor until 1971. Following his retirement, he was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Council and the Advisory Committee of the Bank of Israel, serving as an honorary chairman until his death in 1979.

In 1968 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Social Sciences.