Michael Eitan

Michael Eitan
Date of birth	3 June 1944 (1944-06-03)
Place of birth	Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine
Knessets	11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Party	Likud
Ministerial posts (current in bold)	Minister of Improvement of Government Services Minister of Science & Technology

Michael Eitan (Hebrew: מיכאל איתן‎, born 3 June 1944) is an Israeli politician, Minister of Improvement of Government Services and member of the Knesset for Likud. He served as Minister of Science & Technology between July 1997 and July 1998. Alongside Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Eitan is the joint longest-serving MK, and as such was appointed temporary Knesset speaker following the Israeli legislative election, 2009. He was succeeded as Knesset Speaker by fellow Likud MK Reuven Rivlin on 30 March 2009. On 1 April 2009 he assumed office as Minister of Improvement of Government Services in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biography

Born in Tel Aviv during the Mandate era, Eitan took legal studies at Tel Aviv University. He joined the Herut party, and was a chairman of its youth guard, before becoming a member of the party's central committee and chairman of its Ramat Gan branch.

He was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list (within which Herut was a faction until 1988) in 1984, and was re-elected in 1988, 1992 and 1996, becoming coalition chairman after the latter election, having been co-ordinator of the opposition between 1992 and 1996. In July 1997 he was appointed Minister of Science & Technology, but was replaced by Silvan Shalom in July the following year. He then served as a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office until the 1999 elections. During the Knesset term he chaired its sub-committee on communication and information and helped establish the Knesset's website.

Although he retained his seat in the 1999 elections, they were won by the Labor Party-led One Israel alliance and Eitan lost his place in the cabinet. He was re-elected in 2003, 2006 and 2009, after which he was appointed Minister of Improvement of Government Services.

Eitan is a resident of the town of Kokhav Ya'ir, and was a founder and director of the settlement project.

External links

• Eitan's website (Hebrew)
• About Michael Eitan, at Eitan's website
• Michael Eitan Knesset website