RIEGELMAN, HAROLD

RIEGELMAN, HAROLD (1892–1982), U.S. lawyer and public official. Riegelman, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, entered private law practice after service in World War I. His public posts included: New York State veteran relief commissioner (1922–32); special assistant New York State attorney general (1929–30); special counsel to the U.S. Treasury Department (1935); delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention (1938); and special counsel to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (1947–48). Riegelman was a pioneer in drafting housing legislation, first in New York and later of the 1937 National Housing Law. In 1953, at President Eisenhower's request, Riegelman served briefly as acting postmaster of New York City and in the same year he was the unsuccessful Republican mayoral candidate. He later served as one of the members of the U.S. delegation to the UN. Active in Jewish affairs, Riegelman was vice president of the American Jewish Committee (1949–52), a member of its executive committee from 1951, and finance chairman of the American Friends of the Hebrew University. Riegelman, who served in the U.S. Army with the rank of colonel from 1942 to 1945 and was decorated for bravery, wrote three books about his experiences in the two world wars. These are: War Notes of a Casual (1931); There's a Nip in the Air (1946); and Caves of Biak (1955).