Defense Minister of Israel Information & Defense Minister of Israel Links at HealthHaven.com

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/Labor Party	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

^ 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).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Also Prime Minister.
^ ^a ^b ^c Was not a Knesset member at the time of appointment.

[edit] External links

Ministry of Defense website (Hebrew)

[0] 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).

[PM-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Also Prime Minister.

[-KM-2] Was not a Knesset member at the time of appointment.

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