Simha Erlich

Simha Erlich was born in 1915 in Bychawa

Erlich was born on 15 December 1915 in Bychawa, near Lublin in Poland, to a traditional family. He studied at the Hebrew gymnasium in Lublin and was active in the Zionist youth movement.

He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and first worked as a farmer. He later moved to Tel Aviv and founded a factory for optical products.

He entered politics with the General Zionists and sat on the Tel Aviv city council from 1955 to 1969, serving as deputy mayor from 1962 to 1965. In 1969 he was elected to the Knesset on the Gahal list. He became chairman of the Liberal Party.

After the 1977 elections he became Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. He abolished foreign currency controls and cut taxes, but inflation rose sharply and he resigned as finance minister in 1979. He stayed on as Deputy Prime Minister and in 1981 also became Minister of Agriculture.

Erlich died on 19 June 1983 after heart bypass surgery and was buried in Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery. He was married to Tzila Goldgram, and they had a son and a daughter.