Menachem Meron

Menachem Meron was born in 1928 in Romania

Menachem Meron was born Mendi Markovich in Transylvania, Romania, the eldest of 5 children. In 1945 he immigrated alone to the Land of Israel with a Gordonia movement group bound for Kibbutz Tze'elim. He trained at Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan and Kibbutz Metzuba.

He earned a degree in industrial engineering and management from the Technion in Haifa. He also completed military courses in Israel, France and England.

He joined the Haganah in 1947 and then the IDF, fighting in the Negev Brigade in the War of Independence. He served mainly in the Armored Corps, led the Merkava tank development project and commanded Division 440 in the Yom Kippur War. He later headed the war's decorations committee, founded and led the National Security College, and was IDF attaché in the United States.

From 1983 to 1986 he was director general of the Ministry of Defense, a period that included the Iran-Contra affair and talks on ending the Lavi project. He then sat on several company boards, including Israel Discount's First International Bank and Paz, and advised American firms. He was active in the Labor Party and in 2004 signed a letter of defense officials supporting the disengagement plan.

He was married to Ida and later lived in Givatayim with his partner Ada Tzafrir from 1989. He died on August 28, 2017, leaving 5 children.