
Dalia Itzik ( ''Dalya Itsik''; born 20 October 1952) is an Israeli former politician who last served as a member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
for
Kadima
Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...
. She has previously served in several ministerial positions, and on 4 May 2006 became the first female
speaker of the Knesset
The speaker of the Knesset (, ) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel when the President is incapacitated. The current speaker is Amir Ohana, who ...
, and served as
President of Israel
The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...
in an
interim capacity in July 2007.
Biography
Itzik was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. Her parents were
Iraqi Jews
The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.
The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...
who had immigrated to Israel. Her family was poor; her father was an alcoholic and at times her mother had to steal food for the family to survive. She attended a religious high school, and afterwards, avoided conscription to 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 ...
by declaring herself religious. She then attended a teacher training course, and went on to obtain a
BA in Literature and History from 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 a BA in law from
IDC Herzliya. She worked as a teacher, during which she headed the teachers' union in Jerusalem, worked as a deputy to Jerusalem mayor
Teddy Kollek
Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...
, and served as a member of the executive committee of the
Israel Broadcasting Authority
The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
History
The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...
.
On 26 October 1988, she was involved in a car accident that killed Knesset member
Michael Reisser, who was driving to Jerusalem, when Reisser's car crashed into hers. Reisser was fatally wounded and died the following day, while Itzik was seriously injured.
[
She is married to Danny, an employee of the Israel Electric Corporation. They have three children, Ran, Uri and Adi. The family lives in Jerusalem's Ramat Sharett neighborhood.
]
Political career
Before being elected to the 13th Knesset in 1992, Itzik served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem.
After being re-elected in 1996 and 1999, she was appointed Minister of the Environment in Ehud Barak's government, serving from 1999 until 2001. In 2001 she became Minister of Industry and Trade, before leaving the cabinet in 2002.
Re-elected in 2003, Itzik served as Minister of Communications in 2005. In 2006 she defected to 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 ...
's newly formed party, Kadima.
Following the 2006 elections she became Knesset speaker. On 25 January 2007, Israeli President Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav (; born Musa Qassab; 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician and was the president of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its Cabinet of Israel, cabinet. He ...
took a three-month leave of absence, and on 1 July of that year, resigned the office in a plea bargain. The speaker of the Knesset stands first in the line of succession, making Itzik acting president
An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death
Death is the en ...
. She served as the official head of State until Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
formally took over on 15 July 2007.
After winning third place on the party's list, Itzik retained her seat in the 2009 elections and later became the chairperson of the party. On 5 December 2012, in the days leading up to the 2013 elections while polls showed Kadima either barely getting into the Knesset or not even passing the threshold, Itzik announced she was taking a break from politics and dropping out of the race.
Itzik contested in the 2014 Israeli presidential election, coming third with 28 votes. Her supporters came from across the political spectrum.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itzik, Dalia
1952 births
Living people
20th-century Israeli women politicians
21st-century Israeli women politicians
Candidates for President of Israel
Deputy mayors of Jerusalem
Female heads of state
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Israeli Labor Party politicians
Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish women politicians
Kadima politicians
Leaders of the opposition (Israel)
Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)
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 communications of Israel
Ministers of environment of Israel
Israeli Mizrahi Jews
One Israel politicians
Politicians from Jerusalem
Speakers of the Knesset
Women government ministers of Israel
Women members of the Knesset
Interim and acting presidents of Israel
First women presidents
Women presidents in Asia