Tenth government of Israel
The tenth government of Israel was formed on 2 November 1961 following the August elections. Although David Ben-Gurion was appointed Prime Minister, the government was actually formed by Minister of Finance, Levi Eshkol. On 7 September Ben-Gurion had told President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi that he was unable to form a government; on 14 September Ben-Zvi asked Eshkol to form a government, with Eshkol subsequently announcing that he would do so with Ben-Gurion as PM.[1] It turned out to be the last government led by Ben-Gurion.
| Eighth Ben-Gurion Cabinet | |
|---|---|
 10th Cabinet of Israel | |
 | |
| Date formed | 2 November 1961 |
| Date dissolved | 26 June 1963 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (until 23 April 1963) Zalman Shazar(from 21 May 1963) |
| Head of government | David Ben-Gurion |
| Member parties | Mapai National Religious Party Ahdut HaAvoda Poalei Agudat Yisrael Cooperation and Brotherhood Progress and Development |
| Status in legislature | Coalition |
| Opposition leader | Menachem Begin |
| History | |
| Election(s) | 1961 Israeli legislative election |
| Legislature term(s) | 5th Knesset |
| Predecessor | 9th cabinet of Israel |
| Successor | 11th cabinet of Israel |
The coalition included Mapai, the National Religious Party, Ahdut HaAvoda, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Progress and Development. Deputy Ministers were appointed four days after the cabinet was in place.
The government fell on 16 June 1963 when Ben-Gurion resigned "because of personal needs".[1] However, in reality he was annoyed at a perceived lack of support from his colleagues.[2]
Cabinet members
| Position | Person | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister |
David Ben-Gurion | Mapai | |
| Minister of Agriculture | Moshe Dayan | Mapai | |
| Minister of Defense | David Ben-Gurion | Mapai | |
| Minister of Development | Giora Yoseftal (until 23 August 1962) 1 | Mapai | |
| Yosef Almogi (from 30 October 1962) | Mapai | ||
| Minister of Education and Culture | Abba Eban | Mapai | |
| Minister of Finance | Levi Eshkol | Mapai | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Golda Meir | Mapai | |
| Minister of Health | Haim-Moshe Shapira | National Religious Party | |
| Minister of Housing | Giora Yoseftal (until 23 August 1962) 1 | Mapai | |
| Yosef Almogi (from 30 October 1962) | Mapai | ||
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Haim-Moshe Shapira | National Religious Party | |
| Minister of Justice | Dov Yosef | Not an MK 2 | |
| Minister of Labour | Yigal Allon | Mapai | |
| Minister of Police | Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit | Mapai | |
| Minister of Postal Services | Eliyahu Sasson | Not an MK 3 | |
| Minister of Religions | Zerach Warhaftig | National Religious Party | |
| Minister of Trade and Industry | Pinhas Sapir | Mapai | |
| Minister of Transportation | Yitzhak Ben-Aharon (until 28 May 1962) | Ahdut HaAvoda | |
| Yisrael Bar-Yehuda (from 28 May 1962) | Ahdut HaAvoda | ||
| Minister of Welfare | Yosef Burg | National Religious Party | |
| Minister without Portfolio | Yosef Almogi (until 30 October 1962) | Mapai | |
| Deputy Minister of Defense | Shimon Peres | Mapai | |
| Deputy Minister of Education and Culture | Ami Assaf (until 17 May 1963) 1 | Mapai | |
| Kalman Kahana (from 29 November 1961) | Poalei Agudat Yisrael | ||
| Deputy Minister of Finance | Yitzhak Coren (from 30 May 1962) | Mapai | |
| Deputy Minister of Health | Yitzhak Rafael | National Religious Party | |
| Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs | Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir (from 18 February 1962) | National Religious Party | |
1 Died in office.
2 Although Yosef was not an MK at the time, he was a member of Mapai.
3 Although Sasson was not an MK at the time, he was elected to the next Knesset as a member of the Alignment, an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda.
References
- 1961 timeline Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Jewish Agency for Israel
- Factional and Government Make-Up of the Fifth Knesset Knesset website
External links
- Fifth Knesset: Government 10 Knesset website
