Meir Shamgar | |
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| מאיר שמגר | |
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| Born | (1925-08-13)August 13, 1925 |
| Died | October 18, 2019(2019-10-18) (aged 94) |
| Citizenship | Israeli |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem University of London |
| Employer | Israeli Supreme Court |
| Title | President (1983–95) |
| Parent(s) | Eliezer and Dina Sterenberg |
| Awards | 1996Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State of Israel |
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Meir Shamgar (Hebrew:מאיר שמגר; August 13, 1925 – October 18, 2019) was the chief justice of theIsraeli Supreme Court from 1983 to 1995.
Meir Shamgar (Sterenberg or Sternberg) was born in theFree City of Danzig (present-dayGdańsk,Poland) to Eliezer and Dina Sterenberg.[1][2] His parents wereRevisionist Zionists. Heimmigrated to Palestine in 1939.[2] He attended high school at theBalfour Gymnasium inTel Aviv.
He joined thePalmach and served in Company D. He then joined theIrgun. He was arrested in 1944 for anti-British activities, andinterned in Africa at a detention camp inEritrea. While in detention in Eritrea he studied law by a correspondence course with theUniversity of London.[2][3][4][5] Fellow inmates in Eritrea includedYitzhak Shamir andShmuel Tamir.[6] He participated in an escape attempt.
In 1948, with the establishment of Israel, he was returned to Israel with the other detainees, where he enlisted in theIsrael Defense Forces and participated in the1948 Arab-Israeli War.[5][7]
After the war, he studiedhistory andphilosophy at theHebrew University of Jerusalem and law at the Government Law School of theUniversity of London.[7]
On the morning of 18 October 2019, it was announced in Israeli media outlets that Shamgar had died. He was 94.
Following his studies, Shamgar rejoined the army as a military prosecutor. He was appointed Deputy Military Advocate General in 1956, and Military Advocate General in 1961.[8] Following theSix-Day War, he designed the legal infrastructure of the Israeli military government in theWest Bank andGaza Strip. He attained the rank ofBrigadier General.[7] After retiring from the military, he served asAttorney General from 1968 to 1975.[9] In 1975, he was appointed a justice of theIsraeli Supreme Court. In 1982, he was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court, and in 1983, he became the chief justice of the Supreme Court.[10] He retired in 1995.
In 1996 Shamgar chaired theCommission of Inquiry into the murder of Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin.[7]
Shamgar had three children with his wife Geula, who died in 1983.[11] After her death, he married Michal Rubinstein, a retired judge who served as Vice President of the Tel Aviv District Court.
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