Yair Sprinzak

Yair Sprinzak was born in 1911 in Tel Aviv

Yair Sprinzak was born in Tel Aviv on 8 November 1911, to Hana and Yosef Sprinzak. His father was the first Speaker of the Knesset. He grew up in Neve Tzedek.

He attended the Hebrew Gymnasium Rehavia in Jerusalem and studied chemistry at the Free University of Brussels. In May 1940 he received a doctorate from the Hebrew University.

He was a senior researcher and later head of the organic chemistry department at the Weizmann Institute. In 1963 he became an associate professor at Tel Aviv University. His research focused on desalination, and he supported Alexander Zarchin's method for treating sea water.

He sat on the board of the Movement for Greater Israel and opposed the peace treaty with Egypt. He helped found Tehiya in 1979 and Moledet in 1988, and was elected to the 12th Knesset that year. As its oldest member, he served as temporary Speaker until Dov Shilansky was elected.

His Knesset term ended in July 1992. He lived in Rehovot with his wife Shlomit, and they had 4 children. He died on 6 September 1999 and was buried in Rehovot.