Dan Meridor

Dan Meridor
דן מרידור‎
Meridor in 2007
Ministerial roles
1988–1992	Minister of Justice
1996–1997	Minister of Finance
2001–2003	Minister without Portfolio
2009–2013	Deputy Prime Minister
2009–2013	Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy
Faction represented in theKnesset
1984–1999	Likud
1999–2003	Center Party
2009–2013	Likud
Personal details
Born	(1947-04-23)23 April 1947 Jerusalem,Mandatory Palestine

Dan Meridor(Hebrew:דן מרידור,born 23 April 1947) is an Israeli politician andminister.A longtime member of theLikudparty, in the late 1990s he became one of the founders of theCenter Party.He rejoined Likud a decade later, and returned to the Knesset following the2009 elections.Meridor served at various times asDeputy Prime Minister,Minister of Finance,Minister of JusticeandMinister of Intelligence and Atomic Energyin theIsraeli Cabinet.In 2014, Meridor succeededAvi Primoras president of theIsrael Council on Foreign Relations,an institute of international affairs which operates under the auspices of theWorld Jewish Congress.

Biography

Born inJerusalemtowards the end of theMandate era,Meridor is the son ofEliyahu Meridor,a longtime political associate ofMenachem Beginin theIrgunandHerut(which he represented in the Knesset), and Ra'anana Meridor, an associate professor of Classics at theHebrew University of Jerusalem.

He served in thearmored corpsand then studied law at theHebrew University of Jerusalem,gaining an LL.B. He then worked as an attorney at the Tel Aviv law firm ofHaim Zadok & Co.

Political career

After serving asCabinet Secretarybetween 1982 and 1984 (under Begin andYitzhak Shamir), Meridor ran for theKnessetin the Likud list for the1984 election.As a freshman member, he was appointed chairman of two legislative subcommittees. He was re-elected in 1988, and was appointedMinister of Justicein Shamir's unity government of 1988–90 and in Shamir's Likud government of 1990–92. He retained his seat in the1992and1996 elections,and was appointedMinister of FinancebyBenjamin Netanyahuin 1996.

After successive clashes with Netanyahu, Meridor left the cabinet in June 1997. His public image suffered during that period, when he was compared toHamlet(for his indecisiveness) and to afraidy caton a popular TV show, "Hartzufim".

In 1998, together with several other Likud andLabor Partymembers, he co-foundedIsrael in the Centre,which later became the Center Party. He was elected as a Centre Party MK in the1999 elections,and was appointed chairman of the Knesset'sForeign Affairs and Defense Committee.AfterAriel Sharonbecame Prime Minister in 2001, Meridor was made aMinister without Portfolio.During his time in the Knesset he also served as the Knesset observer to theCouncil of Europe.

Meridor lost his seat following the2003 elections.

After leaving the Knesset, Meridor served as international chair of theJerusalem Foundation.

In the run-up to the2006 elections,Meridor received offers by Labor andYisrael Beiteinu,but he seemed to harbor hopes of being called toKadima's list. However, his inclusion was vetoed by Ariel Sharon's sons, Gilad andOmri Sharon.He later rejoined Likud, and won seventeenth place on the party's list for the 2009 elections. He returned to the Knesset after the party won 27 seats. In the Netanyahu cabinet formed after that election, Meridor was appointed Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy, and Deputy Prime Minister.

Meridor ran in the Likud primaries for the2013 elections,but he failed to win a realistic place on the Likud list.

Family

Meridor's father wasEliyahu Meridor,a member of theKnesset.

Meridor's wife Liora is a senior economist, who held several posts in theBank of Israel,the private sector, and government-sponsored panels.They have four children. Their sonShaul Meridorwas the deputy director of the Allocation Branch at the Ministry of Financeuntil 2020.

Dan Meridor has three younger siblings. Haggit Hurvitz is Head of Pediatrics at theBikur Holim Hospital.Avital Darmon is Director of the Applied Research Initiative in Education.Sallai Meridorwas Chairman of theJewish Agency for Israeland theWorld Zionist Organizationfrom 1999 to 2005 and was appointed as Israeliambassadorto the United States in 2006.

External links

• Dan Meridoron the Knesset website
• Dan Meridor debates Saeb Erakat at the International Peace Institute, 25 June 2010 (video)
• Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridorinterviewed by theBritish Broadcasting CorporationonHARDtalk