Yehoshua Matza

(1931 - )

Yehoshua Matza was born in Jerusalem in 1931. A twelfth-generation Jerusalemite, his ancestors arrived from Greece, having been expelled from Spain in 1492.

He joined the Irgun underground in 1944, at the age of 13, and subsequently served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with the rank of captain.

Matza is an accountant by profession.

In 1965 he was elected to the Jerusalem City Council on the Likud ticket, and from 1969-1979 served as Deputy Mayor.

From 1981-93 he was Acting Chairman of the Board of the Shikun Upituach Housing and Development Company.

Yehoshua Matza has been a Member of Knesset since 1984. In the 11th Knesset (1984-1988) he served as a member of the Knesset Finance and State Audit Committees. In the 12th and 13th Knessets (1988-1996) he chaired the Knesset Committee on Interior Affairs and the Environment, a position he also held in the 14th Knesset, from June-November 1996. From 1988-1992 he served as Chairman of the Israel-Spain Parliamentary Friendship League. He also serves as Chairman of the Likud Secretariat.

In November 1996 Yehoshua Matza was appointed Minister of Health.

He is married, and the father of four children.