Yaakov Edri
Encyclopedia
Ya'akov Edri is an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i politician and member of the Knesset for 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...

. Formerly Minister of Immigrant Absorption
Immigrant Absorption Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption of Israel , known until 1951 as the Ministry of Immigration , a ministry in the Israeli government.In co-ordination with local authorities, the Ministry is responsible for new immigrants for three weeks after they arrive...

, Minister of Health
Health Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Health is a ministry in the Israeli government. The current Minister of Health is Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud.There is occasionally a Deputy Minister of Health...

 and a Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

, Edri is the Minister of Negev and Galilee Development in the current government
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...

.

Biography

Born in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Edri emigrated to Israel in 1959. He attended the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

, where he gained a BA in political science and an MA in public administration.

Between 1989 and 2003, he served as mayor of Or Akiva, where he currently resides. In 2003, he was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list. On 10 March 2003, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Security. In late November 2005, he resigned from 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...

 and joined 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...

. On 18 January 2006 he was appointed Minister of Health and the Minister for the Development of the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

 and the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...

.

Edri retained his seat in the 2006 elections, and on 27 July was named Minister without Portfolio responsible for Jerusalem Affairs
Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Israel
The Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Israel is an occasional portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. It was first established under the government of Yitzhak Shamir on 27 November 1990, with Avraham Verdiger serving as deputy minister, although Avner Shaki had served as a Minister without Portfolio...

. As part of a cabinet reshuffle in July 2007 he became both Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Minister of Negev and Galilee Development. He lost the former portfolio on 14 July 2008 when Eli Aflalo
Eli Aflalo
Eli Aflalo is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. Between July 2008 and March 2009 he was the country's Minister of Immigrant Absorption.-Biography:...

 was appointed to the post.

On 25 February 2007 he was appointed to be responsible for Israel's sixtieth anniversary celebrations. On the same day, he was questioned under caution on suspicion of having tried to receive personal benefits in return for promoting a police commander, Ya'akov Zigdon, whilst he was Deputy Minister of Internal Security. He denied the charges.

He retained his seat in the 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...

 after being placed thirteenth on the Kadima list.

External links

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