The sixth President of Israel, Haim Herzog, passed away early this morning at the Sheba Medical Centre, Tel-Hashomer, of pneumonia. He was 79 years old.
A jurist by training, Major General (res.) Haim Herzog saw service as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and was a former Knesset member. He was elected President of Israel in 1983, holding office for ten years.
Haim (Vivian) Herzog was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1918. He immigrated to this country in 1935. His father, Rev. Yitzhak Halevy Herzog, was Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later Chief Rabbi in Eretz Israel.
Herzog was a graduate of the London and Cambridge universities, and of the Hebron yeshiva.
In the course of his multi-faceted military and public career, he served as chairman of the Jewish Students Federation of Great Britain and Ireland (1939-40). As a British army officer in World War II he took part in the liberation of North-West Europe and was demobilised with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In an official capacity, he was one of the officers accepting the surrender of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.
Haim Herzog was the head of the Jewish Agency’s security department (1947-48), a brigade operations officer in Israel’s War of Independence, head of the GHQ’s Intelligence Department (1948-50), IDF Attaché to the United States and Canada (1950-54), OC Jerusalem District (1954-57), Chief of Staff, Southern Command (1957-59) and Head of Intelligence Branch at the GHQ (1959-64). During the Six Day War he served as Voice of Israel radio’s military commentator.
Haim Herzog was the first Governor of the West Bank in 1967, while also serving as President of Variety (1967-69). As Israel’s Ambassador the United Nations (1975-78), he conducted an aggressive information campaign against the UN resolution equating Zionism with racism.
In 1981, he conducted the Labour party’s general elections information campaign while at the same time officiating as World President of Ort (1980-83), and serving as senior partner in the Herzog, Fox,Neeman law firm (1972-83).