Ran Cohen (; born 20 June 1937) is an Israeli politician and former

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 ...

member for

Meretz Meretz (, ; ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It had no seats in the Knesset following its failure ...

Biography

Said Cohen (later Ran Cohen) was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. At the age of 13 year, he immigrated to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

through

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He hebraized his first name after his arrival in Israel, renaming himself "Ran". He grew up in

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Gan Shmuel, where he absorbed

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

ideologies. During his military service he rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

(Aluf Mishne). After the military he obtained a B.A. in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

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 ...

. Cohen is a resident of Mevaseret Zion. He is married and has four children.

Political career

In 1970 he was elected as Secretary of Kibbutz Gan Shmuel. In 1984 he was first elected to the

as a member of Ratz (headed by

Shulamit Aloni Shulamit Aloni (; 27 December 1927 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz (political party), Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, ...

) after he headed the Left Camp of Israel peace movement. Starting in 1992, he served as a member of

, a dovish left wing party which resulted from the merger of

Mapam File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 ...

, Ratz and

Shinui Shinui () was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market Liberalism worldwide, liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collaps ...

. He was Minister of Industry and Trade in

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 ...

's government. He headed several Knesset committees, including the Security and Foreign Affairs committee. Cohen is most identified with "Law of Public Housing", which allowed residents of houses supplied by the state to assume ownership on the house. He also managed to pass a law regulating minimum wages. After Meretz merged with Yossi Beilin's Shachar movement and renamed itself Yachad in 2004, Cohen ran for the chairmanship of the new party, but lost to Beilin. Supporters of Cohen blamed his defeat on anti- Mizrahi

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

within the party and pointed out that he was the only non-

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

to reach a senior position within it. On 1 November 2008, following Beilin's resignation, he announced his intention to retire from political life and not to seek a spot on the party's list ahead of the upcoming general elections. He said "I want to start chapter three of my life, to do things for my soul: writing, lecturing, taking part in social and public initiatives that interest me".

Public service career

In 2011, Cohen was elected Chairman of the Standards Institution of Israel (SII).Ran Cohen - The Standards Institute of Israel

References

External links

*
Standards Institute of Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Ran 1937 births Living people Iraqi Jews Politicians from Baghdad Iraqi refugees Iraqi emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Tel Aviv University alumni Meretz politicians Ratz (political party) politicians People from Gan Shmuel 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) Deputy ministers of Israel People from Mevaseret Zion