Meir Sheetrit

(1948 - )

Meir Sheetrit was born in 1948 in Morocco and immigrated to Israel in 1957.

He holds an MA in Political Science from Bar-Ilan University. He served in the IDF, with the rank of captain.

Meir Sheetrit served as Mayor of Yavneh (1974-87) and as Treasurer of the Jewish Agency (1988-92). He is a member of the Board of Ben-Gurion University, the Open University and Bar-Ilan University. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Local Government Prize, the Knesset Tolerance Shield and the President's Voluntarism award.

He was first elected to the Knesset in 1981.

Sheetrit served as Minister of Finance from February-July 1999 and as Minister of Justice from March 2001 until February 2003.

In February 2003, Meir Sheetrit was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry, a position he held until July 2004 when he was appointed Acting Minister of Transportation, officially receiving the portfolio in August 2004. In September 2004, he was also made responsible for liaison between the Government and the Knesset.

Meir Sheetrit served as Minister without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry from February 2003 until July 2004, when he was appointed Acting Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, officially receiving the portfolio in August 2004. In January 2006, he was also appointed Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, serving until May 2006.

Meir Sheetrit served as Minister of Housing and Construction from May 2006 until July 2007, when he was appointed Minister of the Interior, a position he held until 2009. In 2012, Sheetrit left Kadima to join Tzipi Livni's new Ha'Tnuah Party and he was re-elected to the Knesset.

He is married and has two children.

Sources: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Wikipedia