Shimon Solomon (; born 5 August 1968) is an Israeli diplomat and former politician. 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

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid (, ) is a centrist political party in Israel. It was founded in 2012 by former TV journalist Yair Lapid, the son of the former Shinui party politician and Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid. In 2013 the first election it conte ...

between 2013 and 2015 and was appointed Ambassador to Angola in 2022.

Biography

Born in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

of Ethiopia, Solomon

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel in 1980 as part of Operation Brothers. He earned a BA in social work at

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

in 1991.Shimon Solomon: Personal Details
Knesset He then worked as an educational consultant at AMIT high school in

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

from 1992 until 1994, before becoming an educational advisor to the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports 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 ...

between 1994 and 1996.Shimon Solomon: Public Activities
Knesset Between 1996 and 1999 he served as an advisor to the Association for the Advancement of Education, as well as becoming executive director of an Ethiopian community centre. In 1999 he returned to the Ministry of Education, where he worked as an advisor to two Education Ministers until 2001. After a short spell at the

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that represent bio-diversity, by protectin ...

in 2003, he became Director of Employment Services for Ethiopian Academics for the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

and the Ministry of Absorption between 2003 and 2005. Solomon began studying for an MA in educational policy in administration 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. ...

in 2004, but ended his studies to go abroad, having been appointed as a consul at the Israeli embassy in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

in Ethiopia in 2005. Returning to Israel, he became director of an immigrant absorption centre in

from 2007 to 2008. He then worked as director of education at the Agahozo-Shalom

youth village A youth village () is a boarding school model first developed in Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s to care for groups of children and teenagers fleeing the Nazis. Henrietta Szold and Recha Freier were the pioneers in this sphere, known as youth ...

, a boarding school in Rwanda from 2008 to 2012.All the kingmaker's men, and women
''The Times of Israel'', 23 January 2013 He was one of the founders of the new

party prior to the 2013 elections, and was placed twelfth on the party's list, becoming a Knesset member as the party won 19 seats. Prior to 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 ...

, he chose not to run for re-election.MK Shimon Solomon Taking Break from Politics
''Israel National News'', 22 January 2015 In 2022 he was appointed Ambassador to Angola. For several years was the CEO of the High School of Agriculture and Science at Kfar Silver.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Shimon 1968 births Living people Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni 20th-century Israeli educators 21st-century Israeli civil servants 21st-century Israeli educators Black Jewish members of the Knesset Ethiopian emigrants to Israel Ethiopian Jews Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) People from Tigray Region Yesh Atid politicians Ambassadors of Israel to Angola