First State Comptroller of Israel (1949-1961)
Zigfried Moses was an attorney and an economist, a Zionist leader in Germany between the two World Wars and the first State Comptroller of the State of Israel from 1949 to 1961.
Family Background
Zigfried Moses was born on May 3rd, 1887, in Germany.
Education
Moses completed his high school studies at Sofia Gymnasium in Berlin in 1904. He was granted a Ph.D. in Law from the university of Heidelberg in 1912. He worked as an attorney in Berlin and specialized in Commercial Law. During the First World War, Moses served as an attorney near the Supreme District Court and as a substitute for the business manager of the Association of German Cities.
Israel's first State Comptroller Zigfried Moses
Military Service
In 1916, Moses was drafted to the German Artillery Corps and sent to an infantry officerscourse, but was found unfit for combat service.
Professional Background
Moses immigrated to Israel in 1937, worked as an accountant and was amongst the founders of Weinstein & Co. Accountancy Firm. In 1942, he published a book on the income tax ordinance of Israel. In 1949, he was appointed by President Chaim Weizmann to serve as the first State Comptroller of the State of Israel - a role he fulfilled until 1961. During his term in office, the focus was auditing financial and economic actions of the state and the efficiency of government's actions.
Additional Roles
Moses participated in Zionist Congresses ever since 1913. Following Hitler's rise to power, Moses started to focus on public activities for the benefit of the Jews in Germany ws, many of whom wanted to immigrate and take their property out of Nazi Germany - he also served as the chair of the Zionist Federation of Germany and vice president of the Reich Representation of German Jews in 1933-1937. Moses was amongst those who first established the legal framework for obtaining compensation for Jews after the Holocaust. He was involved in the foundation of the audit institute of the World Zionist Organization.
In Israel, he was amongst the leaders of the community of Israelis of German origin. He was amongst the founders of the Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of German - Jewish History and Culture, founded in Jerusalem in 1955.
Zigfried Moses passed away on January 14th, 1974.
