Asher Ben-Natan

Asher Ben-Natan (Hebrew: אשר בן נתן; February 15, 1921 – June 17, 2014) was an Israeli diplomat and a key figure in the country's defense and diplomacy fields. Ben-Natan led the search for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was captured in 1960.[1] He became the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense from 1959 until 1965.[1] Ben-Natan then served as the first Israeli Ambassador to Germany (then West Germany) from August 1965 until 1970.[2][1] Ben-Natan was then appointed as Israel's Ambassador to France from 1970 until his retirement in 1974.[1]

Asher Ben-Natan
אשר בן נתן
Director General of the Ministry of Defense
In office 1959–1965
Appointed by	David Ben-Gurion
Preceded by	Shimon Peres
Succeeded by	Moshe Kasti
Israeli Ambassador to Germany
In office 1965–1970
Appointed by	Golda Meir
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Eliashiv Ben-Horin
Israeli Ambassador to France
In office 1970–1974
Appointed by	Abba Eban
Preceded by	Walter Eytan
Succeeded by	Mordechai Gazit
Personal details
Born	Arthur Piernikartz February 15, 1921 Austria
Died	June 17, 2014
Spouse	Erika
Parent	Natan Piernikartz

Asher Ben-Natan was born Arthur Piernikartz in Vienna, Austria, on February 15, 1921.[1] His father, Natan Piernikartz, operated a clothing business in the Austrian capital.[1] He attended a Hebrew High School and was a member of the Young Macabbi.[1] His father bought five-acres of land in Mandatory Palestine in 1934 in response to the emergence of Nazi Germany and the growth of Antisemitism.[1] The family drew up plans to flee to Palestine in 1938 following the Anschluss of Austria. Asher Ben-Natan fled Austria first. He boarded a Panamanian-registered ship in Piraeus, Greece, from which he sailed to Palestine.[1] The ship dropped the passengers off at Tantura, where he swam to the beach.[1] He found work at a kibbutz and changed his name to Asher Ben-Natan, honor of his father.[1] His parents and sister arrived in Palestine from Austria a few months after his own arrival. Asher Ben-Natan married his wife Erika in 1940.

In 1978, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Tel Aviv.[3]