Yehoshua Saguy - Biography

Biography

Born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, Saguy attended a local high school, and later gained a BA in history and international relations from Tel Aviv University.

He entered the Israeli Defense Forces in 1951. From 1953 to 1954 he served in the Southern Command, fulfilling field duties. During the Suez Crisis in 1956, he served as intelligence officer of the Armored Corps and as commander of a reconnaissance unit. Following the 1956 war, he served as an Intelligence Officer with the 7th Brigade, and later assistance intelligence officer. From 1967 until 1970 he was an Intelligence Officer in the Southern Command, and during the Yom Kippur War was a Divisional Intelligence Officer.

In 1974 he became assistance to the Research head at the Military Intelligence Directorate, and from 1978 until 1979 was deputy head of the unit. In February 1979 he was appointed head. However, he was sacked in 1983 following the recommendations of the Kahan Commission, which had determined that he was guilty of indifference during massacres at Palestinian refugee camps in Israeli-occupied Lebanon, and resigned from the army.

After leaving the IDF, He won a place on the Likud list for the 1988 elections, and won a seat in the Knesset. He sat on the Finance Committee, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, until losing his seat in the 1992 elections. The following year he became mayor of Bat Yam, a role he held until 2003.