Michael Harish is a former Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i politician who served as Minister of Industry and Trade

Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel

The Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour and a position in the Israeli cabinet....

 between 1992 and 1996. Since 23 January 2011, he has served as the temporary chairman of the Labor Party, following the resignation of Ehud Barak as party chairman.

Biography

Born in Timişoara

Timisoara

Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...

 in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 in 1936, Harish made aliyah

Aliyah

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...

 in 1950. He served in the Golani Brigade

Golani Brigade

The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...

 during his national service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

.

A member of the Labor Party, he was elected to the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 on the Alignment

Alignment (political party)

The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...

 list in 1973. He was re-elected in 1977 and became chairman of the subcommittee on energy, a role he retained after retaining his seat in the 1981 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1981

Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...

.

He was re-elected in 1984, 1988 and 1992, and was appointed Minister of Industry and Trade in Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin

' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....

's government

Twenty-fifth government of Israel

The twenty-fifth government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Rabin of the Labor Party on 13 July 1992, after the party's victory in the June elections. The coalition also contained the new Meretz party and Shas, and held 62 of the 120 seats in the Knesset...

 in July 1992. He lost his seat and cabinet position in the 1996 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1996

Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...

. During his time in the Labor Party he served as its general secretary.

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