Mickey Levy
Faction represented in the Knesset
2013–2019Yesh Atid
2019–2020Blue and White
2020–Yesh Atid
Ministerial roles
2013–2014Deputy Minister of Finance
Other roles
2021–2022Speaker of the Knesset
Personal details
Born (1951-06-21) 21 June 1951
Jerusalem, Israel

Mickey Levy (Hebrew: מִיקִי לֵוִי, born 21 June 1951) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid and is a former Speaker of the Knesset. He served as Deputy Minister of Finance between 2013 and 2014. Before entering politics, he was a police officer.

Biography

Levy was born in Jerusalem to immigrant parents who were of (Sephardic) and Kurdish Jewish origin[1] from Cizre, Turkey.[2] He did his military service in the Israel Defense Forces in the Paratroopers Brigade. After being discharged from the military, he joined the Israel Police and held a series of command positions. He served as head of Jerusalem branch of the Israel Police between 2000 and 2004, winning the Knight of Good Government award in 2002.[3] After retiring he worked as the Israeli police attaché in Washington, D.C. until 2007.[3] He also gained a BA in political science from the University of Haifa and an MEd from the University of Derby, as well as serving as CEO of the Egged Ta'avura bus company.[3]

Prior to the 2013 Knesset elections Levy joined the new Yesh Atid party, and was placed eleventh on its list.[4] He entered the Knesset after the party won 19 seats. Following Yesh Atid's coalition agreement with Likud, he was appointed to serve as Deputy Finance Minister.[5] He was placed eleventh on the party's list again for the 2015 elections,[6] and was re-elected as the party won 11 seats.

In the build-up to the April 2019 elections Yesh Atid joined the Blue and White alliance, with Levy placed twenty-second on its list. He was re-elected as the alliance won 35 seats.

As part of the agreement between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid to form a "change" government, Levy was elected Speaker of the 24th Knesset on 13 June 2021, defeating Ya'akov Margi of Shas.[7][8] Following the 2022 elections Levy was replaced as speaker by Yariv Levin.[9]

Personal life

Levy is married to Nurit and has four children and lives in the Mevasseret Zion suburb of Jerusalem.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Abdulla, Hemen. "Kurdish-Israeli MP: we would support Kurdish independence". Rudaw. Rudaw. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Editorial Staff (2015-03-31). "Israeli Kurdish MP Mickey Levy: We would support Kurdish independence". Kurd Net – Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mickey Levy Knesset
  4. ↑ Yesh Atid Central Elections Committee
  5. ↑ Deputy Finance Minister calls ultra-Orthodox 'parasites' on the air, and immediately apologizes Haaretz, 24 April 2013
  6. ↑ Yesh Atid list Central Elections Committee
  7. ↑ "Yesh Atid's Mickey Levy appointed new Knesset speaker". The Times of Israel.
  8. ↑ Kingsley, Patrick (2021-06-13). "Mickey Levy is the Knesset's new speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  9. ↑ "N12 - לאחר הסערה: יריב לוין נבחר ליו"ר הכנסת החדש". N12. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.