| Ron Nachman | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 August 1942 |
| Place of birth | Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine |
| Knessets | 13 |
| Party | Likud |
Ron Nachman (Hebrew: רון נחמן, born 6 August 1942) is an Israeli politician and former Knesset member. The founder of Ariel, one of the largest Israeli settlements in the West Bank, he has been its mayor since 1985.[1]
Born in Tel Aviv during the Mandate era, Nachman studied at Tel Aviv University, where he gained an LLB and a BA in political science and law studies.
After helping found Ariel in 1978, he became its first mayor in 1985, and has been re-elected four times since. As mayor, Nachman has argued for keeping Ariel as an integral part of Israel. Since 1997, he has worked to have the former College of Judea and Samaria upgraded to university status. Although the college has renamed itself the Ariel University Center of Samaria, both Minister of Education Yuli Tamir and the Council for Higher Education have vowed to block it.[2] He also serves as deputy chairman of the Union of Local Authorities.
In 1992 he was elected to the Knesset on Likud's list and was a member of the finance and constitution, law and justice committees. He lost his seat in the 1996 elections.
Nachman is also alternate deputy chairman of the Zionist Council in Israel and a member of the Zionist Action Committee.