David Klein

David Klein was born in 1935 in Tel Aviv

David Klein was born in Tel Aviv on July 15, 1935. He earned a BA in general history and economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1959. He later received a PhD in economics from George Washington University.

From 1959 to 1966 he worked in the budget department of the Ministry of Finance. He took part in the team that founded the town of Arad and joined a team sent to Iran to help rebuild the Qazvin area after an earthquake. From 1966 to 1972 he worked at the International Monetary Fund on fiscal policy in developing countries.

Back in Israel, he joined the management of the Tevel Institute of Policy Studies and built an econometric model of the Israeli economy. From 1976 to 1987 he held senior roles at Bank Leumi, including chief economist and head of strategic planning.

In 1987 he moved to the Bank of Israel as a senior director in charge of the monetary department. From 2000 to 2005 he was the bank's seventh governor. During his years there he led steps that gave the bank full operational independence, including using the interest rate as the main policy tool and setting a price stability target of 1% to 3%.

Klein died on May 25, 2021.