Haim Ramon (; born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who 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 ...
between 1983 and 2009, and as both
Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.
Biography
Born in
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
in 1950, Ramon served in the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
, rising to the rank of captain, before studying law at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
, and earning a BA. He joined the
Labor Party (then part of the
Alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Struc ...
alliance) as soon as he left the military, and was secretary of its youth wing from 1978 until 1989. He entered the Knesset in May 1983, replacing
Daniel Rosolio, and, except for a period between January 2006 and the
March 2006 elections, remained a member until 2009. He has been a member of various committees, and chaired the finance committee from 1988 to 1992.
Minister of Health and resignation
Ramon was appointed
Minister of Health in the government of
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
in 1992 where his major achievement was the promotion of the new
National Health Insurance Law (see also: ''
Universal health care in Israel''). In February 1994, he resigned from office, over the failure of the Labor Party to support the proposed health law, which also required breaking the linkage between the Labor Party-affiliated
Histadrut Labor Federation and the
Clalit Health Service Fund. In a dramatic speech at a party gathering he compared the party members to
beached whales and resigned his position. However, Ramon kept advocating for the law even after his resignation and it was finally passed by the Knesset in the summer of 1994.
Histadrut chairmanship
In 1994, Ramon split from the Labor Party to form a list called "New Life in the Histadrut" together with
Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz (; born 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Ministry of Defense (Israel), ...
. In the subsequent Histadrut elections he beat the Labor faction which had controlled the Histadrut since its founding. He proceeded to privatize most of the Histadrut-owned companies. As a result, the National Health Insurance Law was approved during his term of office. Based on recommendations of the
Shoshana Netanyahu Commission from 1990 which undertook an exhaustive review of the healthcare system in Israel in the late 1980s, the law went into effect on 1 January 1995.
Before the law was passed, health insurance was optional. Even so, 96% of the population was insured. Nevertheless, the law revolutionized the healthcare sector in Israel by streamlining the management, delivery and public financing of medical services in the country and guaranteeing minimum coverage levels to all citizens.
Return to government
Ramon returned to government after
Rabin's
assassination
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
, serving as
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 ...
under
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 ...
from 1995 to 1996, when Labor lost power.
Failed Labor leadership bid
When
Labor returned to power in 1999 under
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...
, Ramon was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, overseeing government reform and relations between the government and Knesset. He became Minister of Internal Affairs for a second time in 2000, serving until Barak's government fell in 2001. He opposed Barak's proposals to enter a coalition under
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 ...
, and did not participate in the coalition formed in March 2002 by Sharon and
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer (, ; 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 ministerial posts, including Minister of Indust ...
, Barak's successor as Labor leader. He ran for the leadership of the Labor Party in November 2002, losing to
Amram Mitzna. In January 2005, the Labor Party entered the government of
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 ...
and Ramon became
Minister without Portfolio responsible for Jerusalem Affairs, departing in November 2005 with the other Labor ministers.
Joining Kadima
Following Sharon's break from Likud, and the formation of the centrist
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 ...
party with which he was deeply involved, and after the resignation of Labor ministers, Ramon broke from Labor and joined Kadima. He was the first Labor politician to join Kadima, while others only followed later, including former President of Israel, Shimon Peres and
Dalia Itzik
Dalia Itzik ( ''Dalya Itsik''; born 20 October 1952) is an Israeli former politician who last served as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. She has previously served in several ministerial positions, and on 4 May 2006 became the first female spe ...
, who joined Kadima after several days. In the
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 ...
formed in 2006 and headed by
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.
The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...
, Ramon was appointed Justice Minister. During the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Ramon emerged as one of the most hawkish members of cabinet.
Business positions and non-governmental activities
On 27 July 2006, following a seven-hour police interrogation of Ramon,
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Menachem Mazuz instructed the Justice Minister, in response to Ramon's question, to refrain from making executive decisions relating to law enforcement, including the appointment of judges and the granting of amnesty, while under a sexual assault investigation. On the same day Ramon also stated, "Everyone in
southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
." On 17 August, Israel's
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Menachem Mazuz decided to indict Ramon for
indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault.
England and Wales
Indecent assault was a broa ...
. Ramon responded by saying: "I am certain of my innocence. The court will prove it." As promised before, Ramon announced his resignation on 18 August. He was convicted on 31 January 2007, and sentenced to 100 hours of
community service
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...
, which he served in a therapeutic riding center in
Tel Mond assisting children with disabilities. The court did not find
moral turpitude
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States, and until 1976 in Canada, that refers to "an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community". This term appears in U.S. immigration law beginnin ...
in his actions.
He returned to prime minister
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.
The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...
's government in July 2007, as vice premier and minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy and special missions in the name of prime minister Olmert. In a hearing in the High Court of Justice regarding his return to the government, Judge
Edna Arbel ruled that Ramon is "not to be seen as a sex offender".
On 30 June 2009, Ramon announced his resignation from 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 ...
. He declared that he intends to become a private businessman, but will remain the chairman of the Kadima Council, the party's most important body.
As of July 2020, Ramon was appointed chairman of the board of Vonetize, a company focused on the commercialization of medical and recreation cannabis.
Cannabis co Vonetize appoints Haim Ramon chairman
Globes Israel, 9 July 2020
Personal Details
Ramon is married to Vered Ramon Rivlin, editor-in-chief of the monthly ''Lady Globes''. He has two children from his previous marriage. He was the chairman and co-owner of the soccer club Hapoel Tel Aviv.
See also
*
References
External links
*
The Case of Haim Ramon, Former Justice Minister
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon, Haim
1950 births
Living people
People from Jaffa
Tel Aviv University alumni
Israeli lawyers
General secretaries of Histadrut
Alignment (Israel) politicians
Israeli Labor Party politicians
One Israel politicians
Kadima politicians
Israeli government officials convicted of crimes
Israeli people convicted of indecent assault
Ministers of health of Israel
Ministers of internal affairs of Israel
Ministers of justice of Israel
Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984)
Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988)
Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)
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)
Israeli politicians convicted of crimes
People named in the Pandora Papers
Ministers without Portfolio of Israel