Defense Minister of Israel

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The Defense Minister of Israel (Hebrew: שר הביטחון‎, Sar HaBitahon lit. Minister of Security)[1] is head of the Ministry of Defense in Israel. The post is considered to be the second most important position in the Israeli cabinet, and usually has a Deputy Minister. The Defense Minister is also a permanent member of the Security Cabinet. The current Defense Minister is Ehud Barak, leader of the Labor Party.

Due to the great importance of the defense portfolio, prime ministers have often held the position in addition to their prime ministerial duties; seven of the sixteen Defense Ministers to date were also serving Prime Ministers. Four of them (Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz) are also former Chief of Staffs of the IDF.

Amongst the duties of the post, Defense Ministers can request administrative detention. Because of the intensive work and the tension between the political echelon to the military echelon, frequently disagreements and difference of opinion are created between the Defense Minister and the chief of general staff.

[edit] List of Defense Ministers

Name Party Term
David Ben-Gurion [2] Mapai 1948-1954
Pinhas Lavon Mapai 1954-1955
David Ben-Gurion [2] Mapai 1955-1963
Levi Eshkol [2] Mapai/Alignment 1963-1967
Moshe Dayan Alignment 1967-1974
Shimon Peres Alignment 1974-1977
Ezer Weizman Likud 1977-1980
Menachem Begin [2] Likud 1980-1981
Ariel Sharon Likud 1981-1983
Moshe Arens Likud 1983-1984
Yitzhak Rabin Alignment 1984-1990
Yitzhak Shamir [2] Likud 1990
Moshe Arens [3] Likud 1990-1992
Yitzhak Rabin [2] Labor Party 1992-1995
Shimon Peres [2] Labor Party 1995-1996
Yitzhak Mordechai Likud 1996-1999
Moshe Arens Likud 1999
Ehud Barak [2] One Israel/One Israel 1999-2001
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Labor Party 2001-2002
Shaul Mofaz [3] Likud 2002-2006
Amir Peretz Labor Party 2006-2007
Ehud Barak [3] Labor Party 2007-

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ In Israel, although the "Security Minister" (שר הביטחון) title is translated in English as "Defense Minister," in Hebrew, the Defense Ministers of other countries are more often referred to as "Defense Minister" (Hebrew: שר ההגנה‎, Sar HaHagana).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Also Prime Minister.
  3. ^ a b c Was not a Knesset member at the time.
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