Silvan Shalom Israeli Foreign Minister Country: Israel

1. Biography of Silvan Shalom
2. Political Career
3. Professional Background

Biography of Silvan Shalom

Silvan Shalom was born in 1958 in Tunisia and immigrated to Israel with his parents when he was just one year old. He is married and has five children. Currently, he resides with his family in the city of Ramat Gan, located in the northeast of Tel Aviv.

Political Career

Shalom began his political career in 1992 when he was elected to the Israeli parliament as a member of the Likud party. Over the years, he held various leadership positions in several parliamentary sessions and served as the head of several committees.

In the late 1990s, Shalom was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Defense and later as the Minister of Science and Technology. However, the most surprising appointment came when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon chose him as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his new government. This decision shocked the political elite of Israel, as Benjamin Netanyahu had intended to remain in the position. Netanyahu, instead, became the Minister of Finance, a role previously held by Silvan Shalom.

Professional Background

Although Shalom's profession is journalism, he studied law at Tel Aviv University and economics at Ben-Gurion University. He is fluent in Hebrew, English, French, and Arabic.

In addition to his political career, Shalom has held several significant positions in Israeli state-owned companies. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Israel Electric Corporation, which is considered one of the wealthiest companies in the country.