Katzir, Ephraim

(formerly Katchalski)

(1916- )

   Israel's fourth president (1973-78). Born in Kiev, Russia, on 16 May 1916, he was brought to Palestine by his parents in 1922 and was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he received his master's degree in 1937 and his doctorate in 1941. From 1941 to 1948, he held posts at Hebrew University and as a research fellow at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and Columbia University. During Israel's War of Independence (1948—49), he headed the science corps of the Hagana. In 1949, he joined the Department of Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and became department head. He did research on proteins and polyamino acids and is a member of numerous scientific organizations. He became president of Israel in April 1973 and remained in that position until 1978. In keeping with Zionist policy and practice that government officials adopt Hebrew names, he changed his name from Katchalski to Katzir. In 1978, he became the head of the Center for Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University and a professor at the Weizmann Institute.