Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman (Hebrew: אביגדור ליברמן, romanized: Avigdor Liberman, IPA: [aviɡˈdor ˈliberman] ⓘ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012.
Avigdor Lieberman | |
|---|---|
Avigdor Lieberman in 2017 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2001–2002 | Minister of National Infrastructure |
| 2003–2004 | Minister of Transportation |
| 2006–2008 | Deputy Prime Minister |
| 2006–2008 | Minister of Strategic Affairs |
| 2009–2012 | Deputy Prime Minister |
| 2009–2012 | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| 2013–2015 | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| 2016–2018 | Minister of Defense |
| 2021–2022 | Minister of Finance |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 1999–2003 | Yisrael Beiteinu |
| 2003–2006 | National Union |
| 2006–2016 | Yisrael Beiteinu |
| 2019–2021 | Yisrael Beiteinu |
| 2022– | Yisrael Beiteinu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Evet L'vovich Liberman (Эвет Львович Либерман) 5 July 1958 Chișinău, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Spouse | Ella Tzipkin |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Nokdim, West Bank |
| Education | Chișinău Agriculture Institute (no degree) Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Lieberman entered the Knesset in 1999, and has served in numerous roles in the government, including as Minister of National Infrastructure, Minister of Transportation, and Minister of Strategic Affairs. He served as Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu. He served under Netanyahu as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2012 and 2013 to 2015 and as Minister of Defense from 2016 to 2018. On 14 November 2018, he resigned as Defense Minister because of a ceasefire in Gaza which he characterized as "surrendering to terror."
He is the founder and leader of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party, whose electoral base initially consisted overwhelmingly of Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union, but later attracted broader support. Lieberman has stated his opposition to forming a coalition with religious parties and refused to join Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition in April 2019. As a result of the arrival in Israel during the 1990s of about one million Russian-speaking immigrants, Yisrael Beiteinu has regularly played the "king-maker" role in Israel's coalition governments. He was replaced in the Knesset by Elina Bardach-Yalov when he became the finance minister.