Isaac Herzog is an Israeli politican and current head of the Labor Party.
Herzog (born September 22, 1960) was born in Tel Aviv, the son of former Israeli President Chaim
Herzog. Herzog completed his army service in the Israel Defense Forces at the rank of major and afterwards earned a law degree from Tel Aviv Univeristy.
Before winning his first election to the Knesset, Herzog served as Secretary of the Economic-Social
Council (1988-1990), as Government Secretary (1999-2001) and as Chairman
of the Anti-Drug Authority (2000-2003).
In 2003, Herzog was elected to the 16th
Knesset as a member of the Labor Party. He served as a member of the Knesset Finance,
Internal Affairs and Environment, and Anti-Drug Abuse Committees, as
well as Israel Labor Party Parliamentary Group Whip. Herzog also chaired
the Lobby for the War Against Drugs in Israel, the Lobby for Tourism
in Israel, the Lobby for Youth in Israel, and the Municipal Lobby, and
is a member of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the Environmental
Lobby.
In January 2005, Herzog was appointed Minister
of Housing and Construction, a post he held until November 2005 when the Labor Party resigned from the government coalition. After serving as Minister of Tourism from May 2006 until March 2007, he was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Services.
Herzog placed second on the Labor Party list for the 2009 elections and was appointed Minister of Welfare & Social Services and the Minister of the Diaspora, Society & the Fight Against Anti-Semitism. After Ehud Barak left the Labor Party to establish the Independence Party in January 2011, Herzog resigned his place in the Israeli cabinet.
In November 2013, Herzog was elected chairman of the Labor Party, defeating incumbent Shelly Yachimovich in the election for the post. Ten days after his election to lead his party, Herzog met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to pledge his support for the two-state solution.
Israeli media announced on March 30, 2016, that a corruption investigation was being launched into Herzog's 2013 Knesset campaign. According to officials, Herzog was suspected of accepting illegal donations during his run for the leadership of the Labor Party in 2013. Upon being reached for a statement, Herzog quipped that he is confident that “the investigation will disprove these delusional claims.”
Herzog is married and has three
children.
