Mickey Levy (; born 21 June 1951) is an Israeli politician who currently serves 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 Yesh Atid and is a former

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 ...

. He served as Deputy Minister of Finance between 2013 and 2014. Before entering politics, he was a police officer.

Biography

Levy 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 ...

to immigrant parents who were of Kurdish Jewish origin from

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

, Turkey. He did his military service 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 ...

in the Paratroopers Brigade. After being discharged from the military, he joined the Israel Police and held a series of command positions. He served as head of

branch of the Israel Police between 2000 and 2004, winning the Knight of Good Government award in 2002. After retiring he worked as the Israeli police attaché 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 ...

until 2007. He also gained a BA in political science from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

and an MEd from the University of Derby, as well as serving as CEO of the Egged Ta'avura bus company.Mickey Levy
Knesset Prior to the 2013 Knesset elections Levy joined the new Yesh Atid party and was placed eleventh on its list. He entered the Knesset after the party won 19 seats. Following Yesh Atid's coalition agreement with Likud, he was appointed to serve as Deputy Finance Minister. He was placed eleventh on the party's list again for the

2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...

, and was re-elected as the party won 11 seats. In the build-up to the April 2019 elections Yesh Atid joined the Blue and White alliance, with Levy placed twenty-second on its list. He was re-elected as the alliance won 35 seats. As part of the agreement between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid to form a "change" government, Levy was elected Speaker of the 24th Knesset on 13 June 2021, defeating Ya'akov Margi of Shas. Following the 2022 elections Levy was replaced as speaker by Yariv Levin.

Personal life

Levy is married to Nurit and has four children and lives in the Mevasseret Zion suburb of Jerusalem.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Mickey 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Derby Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Deputy ministers of Israel Israeli businesspeople Israeli people of Kurdish-Jewish descent Israeli police officers Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Politicians from Jerusalem Speakers of the Knesset University of Haifa alumni Yesh Atid politicians