Alon Ushpiz (Hebrew: אלון אושפיז) is an Israeli diplomat who served as the Director General of the Foreign Ministry of Israel, from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as the ambassador of Israel to India and non resident ambassador to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, from 2011 to 2014.

Early life

Born in 1966, Ushpiz studied at

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. He served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and was discharged in 1987 at the rank of lieutenant.

Diplomatic career

In 1992, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and

Japanese studies , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, history, culture, litera ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and joined the Foreign Ministry. After the completion of the cadet course, he was assigned to the Embassy of Israel in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, where he served as an intern and later as political secretary. During his time in Tokyo, he studied social sciences and communication at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. In 1999, he was appointed as the political advisor to Foreign Minister

Shlomo Ben-Ami Shlomo Ben-Ami (; born 17 July 1943) is a former Israeli diplomat, politician, and historian who participated in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, including the 2000 Camp David Summit. Biography Shlomo Benabou (later Ben-Ami) was born i ...

. In 2003, he was assigned to the Embassy of Israel in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he served as a minister for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

ional affairs. In 2007, he was appointed head of the coordination division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In July 2011 he was appointed Israel's ambassador to India and non-resident ambassador to Sri Lanka. On 12 August 2011, he presented his credentials to the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

Pratibha Patil Pratibha Devisingh Patil (born 19 December 1934), also known as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat, is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India. A m ...

. After serving in this position till 2014, he was appointed as head of the political and strategic division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August of the same year. In June 2020, the

government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

approved Ushpiz's appointment as Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held this position till his resignation in January 2023 and was succeeded by Ronen Levy

Personal life

Ushpiz and his wife Inbar have two children. He is fluent in Hebrew, English, German, Arabic and Japanese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ushpiz, Alon 1966 births Living people Israeli Jews Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni University of Tokyo alumni Ambassadors of Israel to India Ambassadors of Israel to Sri Lanka Israeli expatriates in Japan Israeli expatriates in the United States