Shamgar, Meir

Meir Shamgar was born Meir Sternberg in 1925 in Danzig, Poland. In 1939 Shamgar immigrated to Israel. He studied history and philosophy at the Hebrew University and law at the Mandatory Law School in Jerusalem and in the University of London. Shamgar joined the Palmach and then the Irgun. Due to his activities in the Irgun, Shamgar was expelled by the British Authorities to Eritrea with other Irgun members. Upon the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Shamgar returned to Israel. Between 1961-1968 Shamgar served as Military Advocate General. As Military Advocate General, following the Six Day War in 1967, Shamgar established the legal framework of the Israeli military government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Between 1968 and 1975, Shamgar served as Attorney General. In 1975 Shamgar was appointed Justice in the Supreme Court, and in 1983 he was elected President of the Court, a position he held until his retirement from the Court in 1995. In 1994 Shamgar headed a National Inquiry Commission regarding the Goldstein massacre in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. In 1995 Shamgar was chosen to head a National Inquiry Commission regarding the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 1996 Shamgar received the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. He died in 2015.