Aharon Becker

Aharon Becker
Kenyan politician Tom Mboya, Secretary-General of the Kenya African National Union, meets with Israeli Histadrut Secretary General Aharon Becker (January 1962)
Date of birth	21 December 1905
Place of birth	Kobryn, Russian Empire
Year of aliyah	1925
Date of death
Knessets	3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Faction represented in Knesset
1955–1957	Mapai
1959–1960	Mapai
1961–1965	Mapai
1965–1968	Alignment
1968–1969	Labor Party
1969–1974	Alignment

Aharon Becker (Hebrew: אהרן בקר‎, born 21 December 1905, died 24 December 1995) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1955 and 1974.

Biography

Born in Kobryn in the Russian Empire (today in Belarus), Becker was educated at a heder and gymnasium. He joined Tze'irei Zion, and was a member until it was shut down by Bolshevik authorities in 1920. After Kobryn became part of Poland, he studied bookkeeping at a local trade school.

In 1925 he made aliyah to Mandatory Palestine, and initially worked as an agricultural labourer in Petah Tikva, before moving into construction. In 1926 he was amongst the founders of the Hebrew Socialist Youth, and also became a member of Ahdut HaAvoda. Between 1928 and 1932 he was secretary of the Ramat Gan Workers Committee, before serving as a member of the Tel Aviv Workers Council from 1932 until 1943. He became a member of the Histadrut's central committee, and headed its labour union department from 1949 until 1960. From 1961 until 1969 he served as the Histadrut's secretary.

In 1948 he travelled to the United States to purchase arms for the IDF. Between 1948 and 1949 he was director of the Ministry of Defense, before becoming Managing Director of the Supply Authority, which supplied civilian equipment to soldiers.

In 1955 he was elected to the Knesset on the Mapai list, but resigned his seat on 1 October the following year. He returned to the Knesset following the 1959 elections, but resigned again on 23 May 1960. He returned to the Knesset for a third time after the 1961 elections. He was re-elected in 1965 and 1969, but lost his seat in the 1973 elections. After leaving the Knesset he became chairman of the Kupat Holim health fund's central committee.

He died in 1995 at the age of 90.

External links

• Aharon Becker on the Knesset website