Yaron Zelekha (; born 20 July 1970) is an Israeli

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and political figure who heads the New Economic Party.

Biography

Zelekha was born to Iraqi-Jewish immigrants and grew up in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

. His father was a branch manager for

Bank Leumi Bank Leumi (, lit. ''National Bank''; ) 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 () Limited formed before in London by members of the Zionism, ...

. After completing high school, Zelekha 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 Research Department of the Military Intelligence Directorate. After being released from military service in 1991, he studied economics at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1994. He earned a doctorate in economics from Bar-Ilan University in 2001. Zelekha is married to Orly and has three children.

Accounting and academic career

He subsequently worked as an accountant. From 1995 to 1997, he was a lecturer in accounting at the

College of Management Academic Studies The College of Management Academic Studies , a college located in the city of Rishon LeZion, Israel, is the largest college in Israel. The college has an additional campus in the city of Bnei Brak. Founded in 1978, COLMAN is the first non-subsid ...

. He entered public service in 1996 as an economist for the Prime Minister's Office and was appointed head of the Accounting Department at Ono Academic College in 1998. Zelekha was an Israeli Ministry of Finance accountant general during 2003–2007. He was a key witness, according to state comptroller's office, who testified against

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 ...

in his role of

finance minister 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 portfoli ...

in a case of alleged bribery during the sale of the

's controlling shares. Zelekha said that the

State of 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 ...

is more corrupt than it appears. In 2011, Zelekha was chosen to head a committee for examining centralization in the private vehicle market in Israel.

Political career

In December 2020, Zelekha formed the New Economic Party based on an economic vision and said he would run as a candidate in the March 2021 national election in Israel. The New Economic Party did not win any seats in the election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelekha, Yaron 1970 births Living people Israeli economists Israeli civil servants Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Bar-Ilan University alumni Academic staff of Ono Academic College