Shlomo Eliahu ( he, שלמה אליהו, born 18 January 1936) is an Israeli businessman, billionaire, and former politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

between 1978 and 1981.

Biography

Born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

in 1936, Eliahu made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

to Israel in 1950 with his parents and eight siblings. After initially being based in a ma'abara at Beit Lid, his family moved to Kiryat Shalom. Shortly after immigrating he started working for Migdal. After being sacked in 1953, he began working for Binyan as an insurance agent. He was exempted from

national service National service is the system of 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 1939. The ...

in the IDF as he had suffered from

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

, and in 1955 started an independent insurance company in the Shapira neighbourhood of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1966 he established the Eliyahu insurance company, which initially dealt only with car insurance, before expanding to other forms of insurance. In 1977 he joined the new

Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known non-po ...

(Dash) party, and won a place on its Knesset list. Although he failed to win a seat in the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

, he entered the Knesset on 15 February 1978 as a replacement for Meir Zorea. When the party split later in 1978, he joined the Democratic Movement. On 8 July 1980 Eliahu and Shafik Assad left the Democratic Movement to establish Ahva.Mergers and Splits amongst Parliamentary Groups
Knesset website Although they were later joined by

Akiva Nof Akiva Nof ( he, עקיבא נוף, born 2 December 1936) is an Israeli poet and songwriter, composer, politician, lawyer and a journalist, who served three terms as a member of the Knesset between 1974 and 1984. Biography Nof was born Akiva Napa ...

, both Nof and Assad left the party by the end of the Knesset session, leaving Eliahu as its only member. The party did not run in the

1981 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1981. Africa * Central African Republic presidential election * Djiboutian presidential election * Egyptian presidential confirmation referendum * Rwandan parliamentary election * South African ...

, and Eliyahu lost his seat. Today Eliahu owns a large stake in

Bank Leumi Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Koloni ...

and 23% of the Union Bank of Israel. According to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

, in 2011 he was ranked as Israel's 12th richest person with a net worth of $1.1 billion (USD).
Forbes, 11 December 2011 He is divorced with four children.

References

External links

*
Shlomo Eliahu
biography from the official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliahu, Shlomo 1936 births People from Baghdad Iraqi Jews Iraqi emigrants to Israel Israeli businesspeople Living people Democratic Movement (Israel) politicians Democratic Movement for Change politicians Ahva (political party) politicians Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981)