Ophir Pines-Paz

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Ophir Pines-Paz

Date of birth	11 July 1961 (1961-07-11) (age 46)
Knesset(s)	14th, 15th, 16th, 17th (current)
Party	Labour
Gov't roles (current in bold)	Minister of Science, Culture & Sport Interior Minister

Ophir Pines-Paz (Hebrew: אופיר פינס-פז‎, born 11 July 1961) is an Israeli politician and former Interior Minister. He is currently a Member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labour party, and the Chairman of the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee.

1 Personal life
2 Government activity
3 Knesset activity
4 Political roles
5 Awards
6 Other public roles
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Personal life

Born to a Dutch father in Rishon LeZion, Pines-Paz graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a M.A. in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University. He served as a Staff Sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces from 1979 to 1982. He is currently married with two children, and lives in Ra'anana, Israel. He is a member of the Masorti (Conservative synagogue) congregation in Ramot, Jerusalem.^[1]

[edit] Government activity

MK Pines-Paz has held two major government positions, in which he served both as a portfolio minister and as a member of the cabinet: From 2005 to 2006, as part of the Ariel Sharon government, MK Pines-Paz served as the Interior Minister. During 2006, as part of the Ehud Olmert government, he served as the Minister of Science, Culture, and Sport and was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defence cabinet.

Following the 2006 Lebanon War, and the entry into the government of the radical right “Yisrael Beitenu” Party, MK Pines-Paz quit the Ehud Olmert government and turned to focus his energy on the Knesset floor.

[edit] Knesset activity

Ophir Pines-Paz has been a member of Knesset since 1996, when he was elected as a representative on behalf the Israeli Labour Party Party at the age of 34. He has since served consecutively as part of the Labour faction in the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th (current) Knesset sessions.

During this period MK Pines-Paz has held numerous parliamentary positions: He is currently the chairman of the Interior & Environment Committee, which is responsible, amongst other things, for issues such as local government, citizenship, policing, religious affairs and environmental protection. In the past, he chaired the Constitution, Law & Justice Committee and has founded and chaired the Committee on Foreign Workers. Additionally, he served as a member in various Knesset committees including the Foreign Affairs & Defence Committee, the Finance Committee, the Economic Affairs Committee and the Immigration & Absorption Committee.

[edit] Political roles

MK Pines-Paz held several political offices: from 1999 to 2001, during the Ehud Barak administration, he served as the chairman of the parliamentary ruling coalition and as the chairman of the One Israel (Labour Party) Faction. From 2001 to 2003 he served as the General Secretary of Labour Party.

During the internal Labour primaries for ministerial positions in 2004, MK Pines-Paz received the highest number of votes and came in the first place. During the internal Labour primaries for the current Knesset (in 2007) MK Pines-Paz came in second, and was placed third on the Labor Party list. MK Pines-Paz also came in fourth during the first round of the 2008 primaries for the position of party chairman (leader). During the second round he transferred his support to Ehud Barak, and made Barak’s election victory possible.

After the 2006 elections, Pines-Paz resigned from the cabinet in November 2006 in protest against the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu being added to the coalition; and was the only Labour Party minister to vote against the party coming into the government, stating in an interview:

"The moment the government decided to allow the inclusion of Lieberman and his party, whose leaders are infected with racist and anti-democratic statements, I am left with no other choice."^[2]

[edit] Awards

MK Pines-Paz is a recipient of the 2006 “Ometz” award given by "Citizens for Good Governance and Social Justice", and a recipient of the 1997 “Amitai” award for honest management and integrity.

[edit] Other public roles

He is a former Chairman of the Authority for Rehabilitation of Prisoners. He also served as Deputy Director-General of the Immigration and Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency.