Aharon Nathan was born in Iraq in 1931 and moved to Israel in 1949. In 1953 he was appointed Senior Assistant Advisor both under Prime Ministers, Ben Gurion and Moshe Sharett. In that capacity he was secretary to the standing committee of the security services in the Arab sector under the chairmanship of the Chief Advisor Shmuel Divon.
In 1955 he was appointed by Ben Gurion to the Yohanan Rattner’s Commission on Military Government which laid the basis of future administrations of Arab areas in Israel, and post 1967, in the occupied territories. In 1956 he was Secretary to Judge Azulai’s fact finding Commission on Kafr Qasim which drew the distinction between lawful and unlawful orders for future engagement rules of the Israel Defence Forces.
In the Suez War (1956) he was Deputy Military Governor (to Brig. Mati Peled). He set up and headed the first civil administration in the Gaza Strip. In the 60's he was in charge of integrating the Arab workers as full members of the Histadrut Trade Union. In the 6-Day War (1967) he served in the Golan Heights. In 1970 he left the civil service to pursue a career in business and travelled extensively in the Far East and East Europe. In 2005 he was appointed by the President of Israel to the Commission to examine the government and governance of the country. At the same time he joined the board of governors of CECI (the Centre of the Empowerment of the Citizens in Israel) He holds degrees from the Hebrew University and Oxford.