Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
Encyclopedia
The Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
. The position is one of the most important in the Israeli cabinet
after Prime Minister
and Defense Minister. The current minister is Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu.
There is also occasionally a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel)
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries....
. The position is one of the most important in the Israeli cabinet
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...
after Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
and Defense Minister. The current minister is Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu.
There is also occasionally a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
List of Foreign Affairs ministers
| # | Name | Party | Dates in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:... |
Mapai Mapai Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968... |
15 May 1948 – 18 Jun 1956 |
| 2 | Golda Meir Golda Meir Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel.... |
Mapai Mapai Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968... , Labour Alignment Alignment (political party) The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party... |
18 Jun 1956 – 12 Jan 1966 |
| 3 | Abba Eban Abba Eban Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.In his career he was Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations... |
Alignment Alignment (political party) The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party... |
13 Jan 1966 – 2 Jun 1974 |
| 4 | Yigal Allon Yigal Allon Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the... |
Alignment Alignment (political party) The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party... |
3 Jun 1974 – 19 Jun 1977 |
| 5 | Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel... Following Moshe Dayan's resignation, Prime Minister Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,... acted as Foreign Minister for six months until the appointment of Yitzhak Shamir. |
Single MK (no party) | 20 Jun 1977 – 23 Oct 1979 |
| 6 | Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
10 Mar 1980 – 20 Oct 1986 |
| 7 | Shimon Peres Shimon Peres GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... |
Alignment Alignment (political party) The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party... |
20 Oct 1986 – 23 Dec 1988 |
| 8 | Moshe Arens Moshe Arens Moshe Arens is an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher and former diplomat and politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Arens has also served as the Israeli... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
23 Dec 1988 – 12 Jun 1990 |
| 9 | David Levy David Levy (Israeli politician) David Levy is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1969 and 2006, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Housing & Construction and as a Minister without Portfolio... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
13 Jun 1990 – 13 Jul 1992 |
| 10 | Shimon Peres Shimon Peres GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... |
Labor Party | 14 Jul 1992 – 22 Nov 1995 |
| 11 | Ehud Barak Ehud Barak Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government.... Barak was not a Member of the Knesset Knesset The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government... during his tenure as Foreign Minister. |
Labor Party | 22 Nov 1995 – 18 Jun 1996 |
| 12 | David Levy David Levy (Israeli politician) David Levy is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1969 and 2006, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Housing & Construction and as a Minister without Portfolio... Following David Levy's resignation, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu acted as Foreign Minister for ten months until the appointment of Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006.... . |
Gesher | 18 Jun 1996 – 6 Jan 1998 |
| 13 | Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006.... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
13 Oct 1998 – 6 Jun 1999 |
| 14 | David Levy David Levy (Israeli politician) David Levy is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1969 and 2006, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Housing & Construction and as a Minister without Portfolio... Following David Levy's resignation, Prime Minister Ehud Barak Ehud Barak Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government.... acted as Foreign Minister for a week until the appointment of Shlomo Ben-Ami as Acting Foreign Minister. Ben Ami's position was made permanent in November 2000. |
One Israel One Israel One Israel was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.-Background:One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist... |
6 Jun 1999 – 4 Aug 2000 |
| 15 | Shlomo Ben-Ami Shlomo Ben-Ami Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami is a former Israeli diplomat, politician and historian.-Biography:Ben-Ami was born in Tangiers, Morocco, and immigrated to Israel in 1955.... |
One Israel One Israel One Israel was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.-Background:One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist... |
10 Aug 2000 – 7 Mar 2001 |
| 16 | Shimon Peres Shimon Peres GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... Following Shimon Peres' resignation, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006.... acted as Foreign Minister for four days until the appointment of Binyamin Netanyahu. |
Labor Party | 7 Mar 2001 – 2 Nov 2002 |
| 17 | Binyamin Netanyahu | Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
6 Nov 2002 – 28 Feb 2003 |
| 18 | Silvan Shalom Silvan Shalom ' , born 4 October 1958) is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Likud and the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development. He previously served as the country's Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.-Biography:... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
28 Feb 2003 – 16 Jan 2006 |
| 19 | Tzipi Livni Tzipi Livni Tzipporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is an Israeli lawyer and politician. She is the current Israeli Opposition Leader and leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset. Raised an ardent nationalist, Livni has become one of her nation's leading voices for the two-state solution. In Israel she has... |
Kadima Kadima Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians... |
18 Jan 2006 – 1 Apr 2009 |
| 20 | Avigdor Lieberman | Yisrael Beiteinu | 1 Apr 2009 – present |
List of Deputy Ministers
| # | Name | Party | Dates in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yehuda Ben-Meir Yehuda Ben-Meir Dr Yehuda Ben-Meir is a former Israeli academic and politician who served as a membef of the Knesset for the National Religious Party and Gesher – Zionist Religious Centre between 1971 and 1984.-Biography:... |
National Religious Party National Religious Party The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992... , Gesher ZRC Gesher – Zionist Religious Centre Gesher – Zionist Religious Centre was a short-lived political faction in Israel in 1984.-Background:The faction was formed on 29 May 1984, during the 10th Knesset, when two MKs, Yehuda Ben-Meir and Zevulun Hammer, broke away from the National Religious Party... |
11 Aug 1981 – 13 Sep 1984 |
| 2 | Roni Milo Roni Milo Roni Milo is an Israeli politician, lawyer and journalist, and a former Knesset member who held several ministerial positions. He was also mayor of Tel Aviv from 1993 to 1998.-Political career:... |
Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
24 Sep 1984 – 20 Oct 1986 |
| 3 | Binyamin Netanyahu | Likud Likud Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had... |
26 Dec 1988 – 11 Nov 1991 |
| 4 | Yossi Beilin Yossi Beilin Dr. Yosef "Yossi" Beilin is a left-wing Israeli politician and a former Knesset member, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and Justice Minister, representing both the Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, of which he served as chairman between 2003 and 2006. He is best known for his involvement with the... |
Labor Party | 4 Aug 1992 – 17 Jul 1995 |
| 5 | Eli Dayan Eli Dayan Eli Dayan is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Labor Party between 1988 and 1996, and as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 until 1996.-Biography:... |
Labor Party | 24 Jul 1995 – 18 Jun 1996 |
| 6 | Nawaf Massalha Nawaf Massalha Nawaf Massalha is an Israeli Arab politician. He became the first Muslim Arab to hold a ministerial position in the Israeli government when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health by Yitzhak Rabin in 1992.-Background:... |
One Israel One Israel One Israel was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.-Background:One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist... |
5 Aug 1999 – 7 Mar 2001 |
| 7 | Michael Melchior Michael Melchior A renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist, Rabbi Michael Melchior is a leading advocate for social justice in Israel, quality education for all, Jewish-Arab reconciliation and co-existence, protection of the environment, Israel-Diaspora relations and the strengthening of Civic Society as a... |
Meimad Meimad Meimad is a left-wing religious Zionist political party in Israel. Founded in 1999, it is based on the ideology of the Meimad movement founded in 1988 by Rabbi Yehuda Amital. At the national level, it was in alliance with the Labour Party, and until the 2006 elections, received 10th spot on the... |
7 Mar 2001 – 2 Nov 2002 |
| 8 | Danny Ayalon | Yisrael Beiteinu | 31 Mar 2009 – present |
External links
- Official website
- All Ministers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Knesset website