Elimelekh Rimalt | |
|---|---|
 Rimalt in 1969 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1969–1970 | Minister of Postal Services |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1951–1961 | General Zionists |
| 1961–1965 | Liberal Party |
| 1965–1974 | Gahal |
| 1974–1977 | Likud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 November 1907 |
| Died | 5 November 1987(1987-11-05) (aged 80) |
Elimelekh-Shimon Rimalt (Hebrew:אלימלך-שמעון רימלט; 1 November 1907 – 5 November 1987) was aZionist activist andIsraeli politician. He served asMinister of Postal Services between December 1969 and August 1970.
Born inBochnia in theGalicia area ofAustria-Hungary, Rimalt studied at aheder andyeshiva, as well as a Hebrew high school inKraków. While living inPoland he was one of the founders of the Akiva Hebrew Youth Organisation. He went on to study at a rabbinical seminary inVienna, and gained a PhD in philosophy from theUniversity of Vienna, where he was chairman of the Zionist Students Group.
In 1939 heemigrated toMandatory Palestine and worked as headmaster of a school inRamat Gan. In 1943 he was appointed director of the city's department of education, serving until 1952.
In 1951 he was elected to theKnesset on theGeneral Zionists list, and was also a member of Ramat Gan city council, serving as deputy mayor responsible for education between 1955 and 1959. In 1952 he became chairman of the General Zionist Labour Federation, a role he held until 1965. By that time the General Zionists had merged into theLiberal Party, which had become a faction within theGahal alliance (laterLikud); Rimalt was appointed chairman of the Liberal Party's directorate in 1965, having won re-election to the Knesset in 1955, 1959, 1961 and 1965.
Following the formation of anational unity government after the1969 elections, Rimalt was appointed Minister of Postal Services. However, he left thecabinet in 1970 when Gahal withdrew from the coalition. The following year he became chairman of the Liberal Party, a role he held until 1975. He chose not to run for re-election in the1977 elections, having been an MK for just under 26 years. He was considered a leading contender for the1978 presidential election, but did not stand as a candidate.[1]
Streets inRamat Gan andRa'anana are named after him.
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