Jacob Gary

Jacob Gary was born in 1901 in Seda

Ya'akov Geri, also known as Jack Gering, was born in 1901 in Seda, in the Russian Empire, in what is now Lithuania. He later moved to South Africa.

He studied law and humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. He then worked as a lawyer in South Africa for several years. In 1932 he left for Europe.

In 1934 he moved to Mandatory Palestine and worked in the law office of Dov Yosef. He was among the founders of Africa Israel Investments, served as its secretary from 1935, and became its chief executive in 1946. He was among the initiators of the Savyon neighborhood.

On 1 November 1950 he became Minister of Trade and Industry in David Ben-Gurion's second government and served until 8 October 1951. He was the second minister who was not a Knesset member.

He then returned to business and headed a group of South African companies in Israel. From 1955 to 1964 he chaired the board of Ata, leaving for health reasons. He died in 1974 and left a son and a daughter.