Haim Ramon (1950-)

Former Government Minister (1992-94, 95-96, 99-01)
By Steven Klein

Haim Ramon was born in Jaffa in 1950. Drafted to the IDF 1968 and rose to the rank of Captain in the Israeli Air Force. After his release in the 1970s he went Tel Aviv University, where he earned a Law Degree. He currently resides in Ramat HaSharon and is married with two children.

Ramon became active in politics from the moment he was released from the IDF.He joined the Labor Party's Young Guard, serving as its National Secretary from 1978 to 1989. He has been a Member of the Knesset for the Labor Party since 1983. During his first term from 1984 to 1988, he was the coordinator of the Labor Party in the Finance Committee. He was appointed Chairman of the Labor faction in the Knesset for his second term between 1988 and 1992.

After Labor’s victory in 1992, Rabin government awarded him the position of Minister of Health. As Minister he promoted a national health law, but his failure to push it through Knesset led him to resign in 1994. He then chose to run for and won the position of Chairman of the Histadrut General Federation of Labor in July 1994. He led the Histradrut until the November 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. In the wake of this event, the new Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, appointed him as Minister of the Interior, where he stayed until Labor fell out of power in June 1996.

Ramon followed Labor’s next leader, Ehud Barak, into power in 1999. Barak appointed Ramon Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibilities for Jerusalem, government reform, and liaison between the government and the Knesset. When Shas left the government over Barak’s decision to go to Camp David in the summer of 2000, Ramon was assigned the Interior portfolio, holding this post until March 2001.

Ramon, on the dovish end of Labor, opposed Barak’s handling of the crisis that became known as the al-Aqsa Intifada in late 2000. In the wake of Barak’s defeat, Ramon, along with Avraham Burg and six other Labor leaders, officially opposed Barak’s unity government maneuverings with Prime Minister-Elect Ariel Sharon. The standoff led to Barak’s resignation from the chairmanship of Labor February 20.

Ramon never supported Labor’s participation in the National Unity Government under Sharon and Ben-Eliezer. He contemplated challenging Ben-Eliezer early on but withdrew in favor of Avraham Burg, who lost a controversial race to replace Shimon Peres, who had taken over the helm temporarily after the resignation of Barak. He finally tossed his hat in the ring in June 2002 for the eventual race for Labor’s election-year candidate. Ramon is not only attacking Ben-Eliezer on the peace issue, but also building on his socially oriented past as Histradrut Chairman.

Biography links:

MFA http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH02ib0

Knesset http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?ID=115

Campaign site http://www.ramon.co.il/ (Hebrew)

Labor Party [Hebrew - select Hamitmodedim] http://www.avoda.org.il/

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