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To some, Theodor "Teddy" Kollek will always be Jerusalem's mayor. Indeed, Kollek's six-term mayoral administration, which spanned for decades, from 1965 to 1993, lasted longer than the average human lifetime back in medieval times. But Kollek was a modern mayor, leading Jerusalem through tumultuous times, as she transitioned from a pided city to a busting, contemporary capital.

As Kollek himself said of Jerusalem under his leadership:

I got into this by accident.... I was bored. When the city was united, I saw this as an historic occasion. To take care of it and show better care than anyone else ever has is a full life purpose. I think Jerusalem is the one essential element in Jewish history. A body can live without an arm or a leg, not without the heart. This is the heart and soul of it.

Born in a small village near Budapest on May 27, 1911, Kollek grew up in Vienna, before moving to Israel in 1935. In Israel, Kollek, who was already an ardent Zionist in Europe, helped found Kibbutz Ein Gev, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Not long after the kibbutz's founding, Kollek returned to Europe where he helped to secretly evacuate Jews out of Nazi-occupied countries, before working to further the Zionist cause in New York.

Kollek arrived in Jerusalem in 1952 to work as director general of the Prime Minister's Office for Israel's founding father, David Ben Gurion. In 1965, Kollek, who claimed Ben Gurion for a mentor, was elected mayor of Israeli Jerusalem. Two years later, he in essence became mayor of a totally different city, when the city was reunited in the Six Day War, dramatically altering her already complex demographic makeup.

A die-hard advocate of religious tolerance, Kollek made many attempts to reach out to his Arab constituents, ensuring they retained access to the Temple Mount and improving the water and sewage systems in Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods.

Kollek worked hard to improve Jerusalem's cultural life as well, helping the Israel Museum develop and expand, even serving as the museum's president from 1965 to 1996. Kollek also helped found the Jerusalem Theatre as well as the Jerusalem Foundation, which works to ensure that Jerusalem be a modern city attuned to all its residents' needs while at the same time preserving its historic character. He also oversaw plans to transform Mishkenot Sha'ananim from a run-down neighborhood into the center for international culture that it is today. In 1988, the government of Israel recognized these efforts by awarding Kollek the Israel Prize.

After being reelected five times (in 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1989), 82-year-old Kollek was ready to call it quits. Although his supporters encouraged him to run again, he lost to challenger Ehud Olmert in 1993.

Despite losing the mayorship, Kollek continued to maintain a five-day work week - dedicating himself to the Jerusalem Foundation - until he was in his 90s, commuting from his Rechavia walk-up until health problems forced him to move to a retirement home in Kiryat Yovel in the mid-1990s. Kollek passed away on January 2, 2007 and was buried in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery.

Gone but not forgotten, Kollek's name lives on in the famous Teddy Stadium, home of the Beitar Yerushalayim soccer franchise (and numerous revival meetings by famed kabbalist Amnon Yitzhak).