Roni Bar-On (; born 2 June 1948) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He 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

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

and

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 ...

between 2003 and 2011, and is also a former

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Biography

Bar-On was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

shortly after Israeli independence in 1948. After his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, in which he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, he studied law 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. ...

. Whilst working as a lawyer he became a Justice in the Military Court of Appeals in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In 1997 he was appointed

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 ...

, but resigned as a consequence of heavy criticism related to the ' Bar-On–Hebron' scandal, which involved allegations against chief officials that they recommended Bar-On to the position for personal reasons. Bar-On resigned within 48 hours. Prior to his political career, Bar-On served, among others, as Chairman of the Council for the Organisation of Sport Gambling (1998–2001), member of the Central Committee of the Israel Bar (1995–2003) and the Jerusalem Regional Committee of the Israeli Bar, as well as a member of the Council for the Administrative Courts, the Advisory Commission to the Government Companies Authority and the Public Defenders Commission. In addition, he served as Chairman of Beitar Jerusalem's committee, and also on the committee of the Israel Football Association. Bar-On entered the political world when he was elected to the Knesset in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

on the

list. He served as chairman of the House Committee, and a member of the Constitution, Law and Justice and State Control Committees, as well as a substitute member of the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee () is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the ...

. He was also a member of the parliamentary inquiry committee on violence in sports, as well as the Environmental Lobby. He also served as member of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for Uncovering Corruption in the Government System of Israel. When

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 ...

broke with his party to form

, Bar-On followed him, and was appointed Minister of National Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology for the last three months of the Knesset term. After the 2006 elections,

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 ...

appointed him

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 ...

. He was also considered for the post of

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

after

Haim Ramon Haim Ramon (; born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy. Biography ...

's conviction for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, but withdrew his candidacy on 4 February 2007. As part of a cabinet reshuffle in July 2007 he was appointed Finance Minister, despite having no economic experience and lead the Israeli economy through the turbulent times of the Global Economic Crisis. In the 2009 elections he retained his seat after winning fifth place on Kadima's list, but lost his place in the cabinet as the Likud-led coalition formed the government. As a leading member of the minority in the Knesset, Bar-On was elected to head the Knesset State Control Committee in July 2011. As a part of a coalition reshuffle, Bar-On was then elected for the position of Head of

. On 5 December 2012, in the days leading up to the 2013 elections, Bar-On announced he would not be contesting the elections. He is married with three children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-On, Roni 1948 births Lawyers from Tel Aviv Politicians from Tel Aviv Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni Attorneys general of Israel Living people Likud politicians Kadima politicians Ministers of finance of Israel Ministers of internal affairs of Israel Ministers of science of Israel Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)