Anna Azari (born 27 August 1959) is an Israeli

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, and the current Ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic. She has previously been Israel's Ambassador to Russia (2006–2010) and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(2014–2019).

Early life and education

She was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

in 1959 and emigrated to Israel with her family in 1972. Azari attended the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in history and English literature and a master's in political science. She also garnered a Special Program in Russian Studies from

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and graduated from the National Security College.

Career

She has been in the

Israeli Foreign Service The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...

since the 1980s, and lived in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from 1989 to 1992, serving as consul-general of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. From 1995 to 1997 Azari was first secretary at the

Embassy of Israel in Moscow The Embassy of the State of Israel in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of Israel in Russia. It is located at 56 Bolshaya Ordynka Street (russian: ул. Большая Ордынка, 56) in the Yakimanka District of Moscow. See also * Is ...

. Beginning in 1999, she served as Ambassador of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

to both

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

and, before leaving the post in 2003, was described in the Ukrainian press as one of the country's most popular foreign diplomats. On the day of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, Azari was meeting with a delegation of physicians from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based Jewish Healthcare International to discuss their collaborative work with Ukrainian health professionals. The meeting was interrupted when they learned of the attacks and they watched news coverage of the attacks in the meeting room until the embassy was ordered to be evacuated. Following her tenure in Ukraine, Azari ran the Ministry's Eurasia Department where she handled relations with former Soviet states. During this time she was considered to be one of several candidates that

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

could choose to appoint as head of Nativ. She was appointed as ambassador to Russia by

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...

in 2006 and presented her credentials to Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

on 18 January 2007. Over the course of her tenure, Israel and Russia agreed to eliminate the visa requirement for tourists traveling between the two countries and Russia ended a deal to sell

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

S-300

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s. Dorit Golander was chosen to replace Azari in 2009 and she left the post in the summer of 2010. In an interview with ''

Rossiyskaya Gazeta ' (russian: Российская газета, lit. Russian Gazette) is a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia. The daily newspaper serves as the official government gazette of the Government of the Russian Federation, publishi ...

'' prior to her departure, Azari stated that relations between Israel and Russia had improved markedly and that she saw the level of diplomatic activity nearing a par with Russia's relations with bigger countries, such as Germany.

Personal life

Azari is married to Rabbi Meir Azari who leads the

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

congregation of Beit Daniel in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and together they have two children. When her appointment as ambassador to Russia was announced, Greer Fay Cashman of ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' suggested her marriage could be a source of contention with orthodox religious communities in Russia.

References

External links

TAU Guest Speaker:Anna Azari, Ambassador of Israel to the Russian Federation, 2006–2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azari, Anna Living people Ambassadors of Israel to the Czech Republic Ambassadors of Israel to Poland Ambassadors of Israel to Russia Ambassadors of Israel to Ukraine 1959 births Diplomats from Vilnius Israeli consuls University of Haifa alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli women ambassadors Soviet emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent