Polak was born to a Jewish merchant family in Amsterdam on 14 September 1924. His parents were murdered by the
Nazis during the
German Occupation of the Netherlands. After the
Second World War, he worked as a
journalist for
Het Vrije Volk. Polak was appointed Secretary of State for local finances in
Joop den Uyl's government. He worked towards improving the financial position of the larger Dutch cities. Subsequently, he became mayor of Amsterdam for a six-year period, where his challenges included numerous
squatting cases as well as
riots related to
Queen Beatrix's coronation. He died in 1999 at his home in
Ilpendam. ==Decorations==