[1][2] He is often considered to be 'the father' of the Israeli economy for his unwavering efforts to foster economic development during the country's formative years.

Pinchas Sapir was born in 1906 in Suwałki, Russian Empire (now in Poland) and after graduating from a teachers' seminary he emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1929.

[3][1] At the time he served in government, the young state was isolated economically from its neighbors while having to contend with significant defense expenditures and struggling to absorb and provide for the many Jewish immigrants who entered its borders.

Sapir worked tirelessly to attract foreign investments to the country, often by personally encouraging and enticing businessmen from around the world to set up factories and businesses in the young nation.

While he is at times criticized for perhaps providing undue protection to wealthy investors and practicing too much centralized control (as in the "black notebook"),[5] he is nevertheless recognized as a man of action who always had the best interests of the Israeli economy and society on his mind.