Dr Victor Brailovsky (; born 27 December 1935) is an Israeli computer scientist, mathematician,

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

activist and former politician. He served as Minister of Science and Technology for six days in 2004. In May 1986 Brailovsky was awarded an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Degree from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Biography

Brailovsky was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1935. He was an activist for

and

refusenik Refusenik (, ; alternatively spelled refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authorities of the Soviet Union and oth ...

between 1972 and 1987, and was a

Prisoner of Zion In Israel, prisoners of Zion (, asirei Zion, singular: , asir Zion) were Jews who were imprisoned or deported for Zionist activity in countries where such activity was prohibited. The former Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, and the form ...

between 1981 and 1984. In 1987 he was allowed to emigrate to Israel with his family, where he worked as a professor of mathematics and computer science in Tel-Aviv University. In the 1999 elections he was voted into the Knesset on

Shinui Shinui () was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market Liberalism worldwide, liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collaps ...

's list, and became a member of the Science and Technology and Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs committees. Following the 2003 elections, in which Brailovsky retained his seat, Shinui joined

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. On 5 March 2003 he was appointed Deputy

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. On 29 November 2004 he became Minister of Science and Technology, replacing fellow Shinui member Ilan Shalgi. However, Shinui pulled out of the government less than a week later, and Brailovsky lost his cabinet post. Following the split in Shinui, Brailovsky joined the Secular Faction (later Hetz). The party failed to cross the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential e ...

and he lost his seat.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brailovsky, Victor 1935 births Mathematicians from Moscow Russian Jews Russian Zionists Refuseniks Shinui politicians Hetz (political party) politicians Living people Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Ministers of science of Israel Soviet emigrants to Israel