Ministry of Economy (Israel)

Former headquarters of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Agron Street, Jerusalem
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Israel

Politics portal

The Ministry of Economy (Hebrew: משרד הכלכלה‎, Misrad HaKalkala) is a ministry of the Israeli government that oversees commerce, industry and labor in Israel.

History

The ministry was established in 1948 as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In 1977 the Tourism Ministry post was added to it, becoming the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism. However, the merger was reversed in 1981 and the office was renamed Ministry of Industry and Trade. Labor, which had been merged with the Welfare Ministry in the 1970s, was appended to the portfolio in 2003.

The post is currently held by Naftali Bennett of The Jewish Home. There is occasionally a Deputy Minister.

List of Industry, Trade and Labor ministers

Parties

      General Zionists       Mapai/Alignment/Labor       Gahal       Likud       Yisrael BaAliyah       Meretz       Kadima       Shas       Independence       Independent       The Jewish Home

No. Name Party Term of office Govt. (P.M.)
1 Peretz Bernstein General Zionists May 14, 1948 March 10, 1949 Prov (Ben-Gurion)
2 Eliezer Kaplan Mapai March 10, 1949 November 1, 1950 1 (Ben-Gurion)
3 Ya'akov Geri Not an MK November 1, 1950 October 8, 1951 2 (Ben-Gurion)
4 Dov Yosef Mapai October 8, 1951 December 24, 1952 3 (Ben-Gurion)
(1) Peretz Bernstein General Zionists December 24, 1952 June 29, 1955 4 (Ben-Gurion)
5 (Sharett)
5 Peretz Naftali Mapai June 29, 1955 November 3, 1955 6 (Sharett)
6 Pinchas Sapir Mapai November 3, 1955 May 25, 1965 7·8·9·10 (Ben-Gurion)
11·12 (Eshkol)
7 Haim Yosef Zadok Mapai;
Alignment (Labor)		 May 25, 1965 November 22, 1966 12·13 (Eshkol)
8 Ze'ev Sherf Alignment (Labor) November 22, 1966 December 15, 1969 13 (Eshkol)
14 (Meir)
9 Yosef Sapir Gahal December 15, 1969 August 6, 1970 15 (Meir)
(6) Pinchas Sapir Alignment September 1, 1970 March 5, 1972
10 Haim Bar-Lev Not an MK[1] March 5, 1972 June 20, 1977 15·16 (Meir)
17 (Rabin)
11 Yigal Hurvitz Likud June 20, 1977 October 1, 1978 18 (Begin)
12 Gideon Patt Likud January 15, 1979 August 5, 1981 18 (Begin)
12 Gideon Patt Likud August 5, 1981 September 13, 1984 19 (Begin)
20 (Shamir)
13 Ariel Sharon Likud September 13, 1984 February 20, 1990 21 (Peres)
22·23 (Shamir)
14 Moshe Nissim Likud March 7, 1990 July 13, 1992 23·24 (Shamir)
15 Michael Harish Labor July 13, 1992 June 18, 1996 25 (Rabin)
26 (Peres)
16 Natan Sharansky Yisrael BaAliyah June 18, 1996 July 6, 1999 27 (Netanyahu)
17 Ran Cohen Meretz July 6, 1999 June 24, 2000 28 (Barak)
18 Ehud Barak (as PM) One Israel (Labor) September 24, 2000 March 7, 2001
19 Dalia Itzik Labor March 7, 2001 November 2, 2002 29 (Sharon)
(13) Ariel Sharon (as PM) Likud November 2, 2002 February 28, 2003
20 Ehud Olmert Likud; Kadima February 28, 2003 May 4, 2006 30 (Sharon)
21 Eli Yishai Shas May 4, 2006 March 31, 2009 31 (Olmert)
22 Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Labor March 31, 2009 January 17, 2011 32 (Netanyahu)
23 Shalom Simhon Independence January 18, 2011 January 22, 2013
24 Naftali Bennett The Jewish Home January 23, 2013 Incumbent 31 (Netanyahu)

1 Bar-Lev was not an MK at the time, but was elected to the Knesset on the Alignment's list in the 1977 elections.

Deputy Ministers

Parties

      General Zionists       Alignment/Labor       Likud       Kadima

No. Name Party Term of office Govt.
1 Zalman Suzayiv General Zionists June 15, 1953 June 29, 1955 4·5
2 Aryeh Eliav Alignment (Labor) October 17, 1966 November 22, 1966 13
November 28, 1966 June 26, 1967
3 Yitzhak Peretz Likud June 28, 1977 January 15, 1979 18
4 Masha Lubelsky Labor August 4, 1992 June 18, 1996 25·26
5 Eli Ben-Menachem Labor March 7, 2001 November 2, 2002 29
6 Michael Ratzon Likud March 5, 2003 October 28, 2004 30
7 Eli Aflalo Kadima March 30, 2005 May 4, 2006
8 Orit Noked Labor March 31, 2009 January 18, 2011 32

External links