Michael Eitan

Michael Eitan (Hebrew: מיכאל איתן‎; born 6 March 1944) is an Israeli politician. A member of the Knesset for Likud from 1984 until 2013, he also served as Minister of Science & Technology between July 1997 and July 1998 and Minister of Improvement of Government Services from 2009 until 2013.

Michael Eitan
Date of birth (1944-03-06) 6 March 1944
Place of birthTel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine
Knessets11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Faction represented in Knesset
1984–2013Likud
Ministerial roles
1997–1998Minister of Science & Technology
2009–2013Minister of Improvement of Government Services

Biography

Michael ("Miki") Eitan was born in Tel Aviv during the Mandate era. He studied law at Tel Aviv University. He joined the Herut party, and was a chairman of its youth guard before becoming a member of the party's central committee and chairman of its Ramat Gan branch.

Eitan was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list (within which Herut was a faction until 1988) in 1984, and was re-elected in 1988, 1992 and 1996, becoming coalition chairman after the latter election, having been co-ordinator of the opposition between 1992 and 1996. In July 1997 he was appointed Minister of Science & Technology, but was replaced by Silvan Shalom in July the following year. He then served as a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office until the 1999 elections. During the Knesset term he chaired its sub-committee on communication and information and helped establish the Knesset's website.

Although he retained his seat in the 1999 elections, they were won by the Labor Party-led One Israel alliance and Eitan lost his place in the cabinet. He was re-elected in 2003, 2006 and 2009, after which he briefly served as temporary Knesset speaker due to him being the longest-serving MK alongside Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.[1] He was later appointed Minister of Improvement of Government Services. He did not contest the 2013 elections.

In 1997, Eitan was co-author of the Beilin-Eitan Agreement presented to Abu Mazen.[2]

Eitan is a resident of the town of Kokhav Ya'ir, and was a founder and director of the settlement project.

References
  1. 18th Knesset will be sworn-in today The Jerusalem Post, 23 Feb 2009, Retrieved 9 September 2011
  2. Tackling the Intractable, Michael Chiller-Glaus
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