Shalom Simhon ( he, שלום שמחון, born 7 December 1956) is an Israeli politician and former member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and the Labor Party. He previously served as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour and Minister of Minorities in the Israeli cabinet.

Biography

Born in

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...

, after completing his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, Simhon studied for a BA in social work, and became a social worker. He lives in

Even Menachem Even Menachem ( he, אֶבֶן מְנַחֵם) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Western Galilee, about six kilometers northwest of Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In it had a popula ...

, a moshav in the

western Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

, and was secretary general of the Moshavim Movement. He has also chaired the Social Department of the Moshavim Movement, the Youth Department of the Moshavim Movement (for which he was also secretary) and was secretary general of

HaMerkaz HaHakla'i HaMerkaz HaHakla'i ( he, המרכז החקלאי, lit. ''The Agricultural Centre'') is a settlement movement in Israel. The 151 members of HaMerkaz HaHakla'i are selected every four years by a conference of 501 members of the Agricultural Workers ...

. Simhon was first elected to the Knesset in the 1996 elections. He retained his seat in the 1999 elections, and was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ariel Sharon's

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...

as well as serving as chairman of the Finance Committee. He served in the cabinet again during the 16th Knesset after Labour joined the government, this time as

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

. In 2006 there was an investigation into whether he had received personal favours from an airline company, though he denied the claim. After retaining his seat 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 president ...

he was reappointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He retained his seat again in the 2009 elections, having been placed twelfth on the Labor list. In January 2011 he was one of five members to leave Labor to establish

, and was appointed Industry, Trade and Labour Minister, replacing

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Binyamin "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer (, he, בנימין "פואד" בן אליעזר; 12 February 1936 – 28 August 2016) was an Iraqi-born Israeli politician and general. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1984 and 2014, and held several min ...

. On 18 January he was also appointed Minister of Minorities. During his tenure as the Trade and Labor Minister, the ministry passed a law requiring retailers to clearly display food items whose price is regulated by the government. The ministry, following the initiative of Eitan Cabel, also made it easier for consumers to return items they purchased and get their money back. He lost his Knesset seat in 2013 after Independence chose not to contest the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simhon, Shalom 1956 births Living people Independence (Israeli political party) politicians Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli social workers Moshavim movement secretaries One Israel politicians People from Kfar Saba University of Haifa alumni Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Ministers of Agriculture of Israel Ministers of Environment of Israel