Kiryat HaMemshala

Kiryat HaMemshala (קרית הממשלה, lit. Government complex), also known as Kiryat Ben-Gurion, (lit. Ben-Gurion complex) is the government precinct of the State of Israel. It is located in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem.

History


In December 1949, the Israeli cabinet, then headed by David Ben-Gurion, voted to move most of the country's official government institutions from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Construction work began in 1950. The original plans were drawn up by the architectural firms of Munio Gitai Weinraub and Al Mansfeld, but they were not implemented. The complex was designed by architects Richard Kauffmann, Joseph Klarwein and Heinz Rau.

The Knesset is located in Kiryat HaMemshala, as are the Supreme Court of Israel, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Bank of Israel.