State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel (2005-2012)
Micha Lindenstrauss was the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of the State of Israel in 1937-2019 and prior to this role served as the president of the Haifa District Court.
Family Background
Micha Lindenstrauss was born on June 28th, 1937, in Berlin, and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1939. He was married and had three daughters.
Education & Military Service
Lindenstrauss completed his high-school studies at the Bialik Gymnasium in Haifa and studied Law (Undergraduate + Master Programs) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In 1965-1972, he served as a military prosecutor and legal advisor of the Samaria District. As part of his role, he served as the prosecutor in many trials of Fatah terrorists and made efforts to develop relationships with the civil population in Judea & Samaria. In 1971 he was appointed as a judge in a military court.
State Comptroller Lindenstrauss presents the State Comptroller's report to Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2010. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, Government Press Office
Professional Background
In 1972, Lindenstrauss was appointed as a traffic court judge and three years later was appointed as a Magistrate Court judge in Haifa. In 1981, he started to serve as an acting judge at the Haifa District Court. In 1982 he was appointed as permanent judge in the District Court of Nazareth, and later on returned to serve as a judge at the Haifa District Court. In 1999, he was appointed as president of the Haifa District Court and served in this role for six years.
On July 4th, 2005, he started his term as the State Comptroller and Ombudsman. During his 7-year term, he took actions for minimizing political corruption by conducting audit reports that focused on corruption cases and violation of integrity.
Lindenstrauss was granted the Knight of the Quality of Government Award for 2009 and in 2012 he was granted a Title of Honor from the Israeli Society for Quality and an award from Ometz NGO (Citizens for good governance and for social-legal justice).
Additional Roles
Following his term as State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Lindenstrauss taught at the Haifa University Faculty of Law. In 2013, he was elected to serve as the chairperson of Transparency International -Israel (NGO) - the Israeli branch of Transparency International. In 2016 he was granted the Beloved of the City of Haifa Award. Lindenstrauss served as the chair of the "Movement for a good Israel" and the chair of the Judges Association in Israel.
Micha Lindenstrauss passed away on May 2nd, 2019.
