Meir Sheetrit

Meir Sheetrit (Hebrew: מאיר שטרית, born 10 October 1948) is an Israeli politician, Knesset member, and has been Minister of the Interior since 4 July 2007. He also served as Acting Justice Minister for three months in 2006.

Sheetrit was born in Ksar Souk (now Errachidia), in Morocco, in 1957 his family immigrated to Israel. Sheetrit holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from Bar-Ilan University. Sheetrit is married and is a father to two children. He began his political career in 1974 when he was elected as the mayor of the city of Yavne and served until 1987. Sheetrit was elected to the Israeli Knesset in 1981 and served as a member until 1988 and again from 1992 to the present. In 1988 he was elected as treasurer of the Jewish Agency for Israel and served in this position until 1992. In 1996 Sheetrit was elected as the chairman of the political coalition and of the Likud fraction in the Knesset. In 1998 he was appointed as Finance Minister by then Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2001 he was appointed Justice Minister. In 2003, he was appointed as Treasury Minister (a Minister in the Finance Ministry; in effect, a type of Deputy Finance Minister), led by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was spearheading a sweeping and highly unpopular policy of privatization reform, supported by Sheetrit. He was appointed Minister of Transportation in 2004, and later served as Minister of Education, Culture and Sport until 2006.

With the formation of the Kadima party in 2005, headed by Ariel Sharon, Sheetrit quit the Likud and joined the newly formed party. He was elected to the 17th Knesset in 2006 on the Kadima ticket. He was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction, a post he held until July 2007, when he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. Between 23 August amd 29 November 2006, he also served as Acting Justice Minister following Haim Ramon's resignation on 18 August over an indecent assault indictment. Sheetrit was replaced in the justice portfolio by Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni, who also continues to serve as Foreign Minister.

External links

Meir Sheetrit on the Knesset website