Bio

Until February of 2001 was the Prime Minister of Israel. Previous positions included Head of Defense Planning and Budgeting, head of the Israeli intelligence community, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces ("IDF"), Minister of the Interior in Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin's cabinet, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Shimon Peres cabinet and Labor Party Chairman. During his tenure as Prime Minister, Mr Barak led Israel out of a prolonged recession into an economic boom, with 5.9% annual GDP growth, record foreign investments, near-zero inflation, a halved deficit and significantly decreased external debt. In the course of his celebrated 36-year career in the IDF, Mr Barak was awarded the "Distinguished Service Medal" and four additional citations for outstanding courage and valor, making him the most decorated soldier in the history of the IDF. Mr Barak is renowned as a leading expert on security matters. He is a frequent speaker in virtually all of the leading business and news forums. BSc in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1968. Masters in Economic Engineering Systems from Stanford University in 1978.