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Haim Ramon
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Haim Ramon (born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician and who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.
in Jaffa, Ramon served in the Israeli Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain, before studying law at Tel Aviv University, gaining a BA. He joined the Labor Party (then part of the Alignment alliance as soon as he left the military, and was secretary of its youth wing from 1978 until 1989.
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Encyclopedia
Haim Ramon (born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician and who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.
Biography
Born in Jaffa, Ramon served in the Israeli Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain, before studying law at Tel Aviv University, gaining a BA. He joined the Labor Party (then part of the Alignment alliance as soon as he left the military, and was secretary of its youth wing from 1978 until 1989. He entered the Knesset in May 1983, replacing Daniel Rosolio, and has remained a member since then, except for a period between January 2006 and the March 2006 election (he had to resign in order to switch from Labor to Kadima). He has been a member of various committees, and chaired the finance committee from 1988 to 1992.
Minister of Health and resignation
Ramon was appointed Minister of Health in the government of Yitzhak Rabin in 1992. In February 1994 he resigned his position, over the failure of the Labor Party to support the proposed National Health Insurance Law and breaking the linkage of the Histadrut Labor Federation and the Clalit Health Fund. In a dramatic speech at a party gathering he compared the party members to beached whales and resigned his position.
Histadrut chairmanship
In 1994, Ramon split from the Labor Party to form a list called "New Life in the Histadrut" together with Amir Peretz. In the subsequent Histadrut elections he beat the Labor faction which had controlled the Histadrut since its founding. He proceeded to privatize most of the Histadrut-owned companies. As a result the National Health Insurance Law was approved during his term of office. Based on recommendations of the (Shoshana) Netanyahu Commission from 1990, the law went into effect on 1 January 1995.
Before the law was passed, health insurance was optional. Even so, 96% of the population was insured.
Return to government
Ramon returned to government after Rabin's assassination, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs under Shimon Peres from 1995 to 1996, when Labor lost power.
Failed Labor leadership bid
When Labor returned to power in 1999 under Ehud Barak, Ramon was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, overseeing government reform and relations between the government and Knesset. He became Minister of Internal Affairs for a second time in 2000, serving until Barak's government fell in 2001. He opposed Barak's proposals to enter a coalition under Ariel Sharon, and did not participate in the coalition formed in March 2002 by Sharon and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Barak's successor as Labor leader. He ran for the leadership of the Labor Party in November 2002, losing to Amram Mitzna. In January 2005, the Labor Party entered the government of Ariel Sharon and Ramon became Minister without Portfolio, departing in November 2005 with the other Labor ministers.
Joining Kadima
Following Sharon's break from Likud, and the formation of the centrist Kadima party with which he was deeply involved, and after the resignation of Labor ministers, Ramon broke from Labor and joined Kadima. He was the first Labor politician to join Kadima, paving the way to the current President of Israel, Shimon Peres, and the 17th Knesset Speaker, Dalyah Itzick, who joined him after few days. In the present government, formed in 2006 and headed by Ehud Olmert, Ramon was appointed Justice Minister. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Ramon emerged as one of the most hawkish members of cabinet.
Indecent conduct and resignation
On 27 July 2006, following a seven-hour police interrogation of Ramon, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz instructed the Justice Minister, in response to Ramon's question, to refrain from making executive decisions relating to law enforcement, including the appointment of judges and the granting of amnesty, while under a sexual assault investigation. On the same day Ramon also stated, "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hezbollah." On 17 August, Israel's Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to indict Ramon for indecent assault. Ramon has responded by saying: "I am certain of my innocence. The court will prove it." As promised before, Ramon announced his resignation on 18 August. He was convicted on 31 January 2007, and sentenced to community service, which he served in a therapeutic riding center in Tel Mond. The court did not find moral turpitude in his actions.
He returned to prime minister Ehud Olmert's government in July 2007, as Vice Premier and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy and special missions in the name of prime minister Olmert.
Personal Details
Haim Ramon is married to Vered Ramon Rivlin, editor-in-chief of the monthly Lady Globes. He has two children from former marriage.
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