Politicsגדעון פת

Gideon Patt

Gideon Patt was an Israeli economist and Likud politician who served in the Knesset from 1970 to 1996 and held several ministerial posts.

1933 to 2020Knesset member from 1970 to 1996Minister of TourismMinister of Housing and ConstructionPresident of Israel Bonds

Born: 22 February 1933, Jerusalem
Died: 27 April 2020, Savyon
Occupation: economist, politician
Party: Likud
Education: New York University

Gideon Patt was born in 1933 in Jerusalem

Gideon Patt was born Gideon Markus in Jerusalem in 1933, during the Mandate era. He was raised by his aunt Haya Patt, owner of Cafe Patt in the city, and later took her family name. He served in the Nahal.

From 1953 to 1955 he ran the office of Transport Minister Yosef Sapir. In the mid 1950s he moved to the United States, was active in the Zionist Organization, and earned a BA in economics at New York University. He returned to Israel in 1967 to run Sapir's office again and joined the Maccabi leadership in 1968.

He ran for the Liberal Party on the Gahal list in 1969 but was not elected. He entered the Knesset in 1970 after the death of Aryeh Ben-Eliezer. In Menachem Begin's government he was Minister of Housing and Construction, and from 1979 Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

After 1984 he served as Minister of Science and Development, and after 1988 as Minister of Tourism. He lost his cabinet post when Labor formed the government in 1992. He left the Knesset in 1996.

After leaving politics he was president of Israel Bonds until 2002 and president of the Council for a Beautiful Israel. He lived in Savyon with his wife Ann and had 3 sons. He died in 2020.