Yechiel Duvdevani

Yechiel Duvdevani was born in 1896 in Volhynia

Duvdevani was born in 1896 as Yechiel Weinschel in the town of Zelia in Volhynia, then part of the Russian Empire and now in Ukraine. He went to high school in Kiev and then studied for one year at a university. He joined the Al HaMishmar movement, which later became Dror.

He moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1923 and helped found kibbutz Givat HaShlosha in 1925. He was secretary of Mapai in 1939 and 1940, and secretary of the Petah Tikva Workers Council. He was also among the heads of the kibbutz movement.

During World War II he joined the Jewish Brigade. From 1945 he worked with the Bricha movement in Europe, organizing Jewish communities, Hebrew schools and training farms for survivors and helping them reach the Land of Israel. He chaired the Center for the Diaspora.

He was elected to the first Knesset for Mapai in 1949 and did not run again in 1951. After the split in HaKibbutz HaMeuhad he left Givat HaShlosha and in 1952 helped found kibbutz Einat. He was the first secretary of Ihud HaKibbutzim.

He was chief executive of Mekorot from 1954 to 1964 and chaired its board from 1962 to 1964. He died on 30 April 1988 and was buried in Einat.