Avraham (Avi) Balashnikov ( he, אברהם (אבי) בלשניקוב, born March 20, 1966) is an Israeli public figure, currently serves as Chairman of

College of Management Academic Studies The College of Management Academic Studies, a college located in the city of Rishon LeZion, Israel, is the largest college in Israel. Founded in 1978, COLMAN is the first non-subsidized, not-for-profit research academic institution in Israel to ...

and the representative of the American businessman

Ronald Lauder Ronald (Ron) Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is an American businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, art collector, and political activist. He is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, ...

in Israel. Balashnikov previously served as Deputy Director General of the

Israel Export Institute The Israel Export Institute (IEI; he, מכון היצוא הישראלי, maḥon ha-yitsu ha-yisra'eli) is an Israeli governmental agency which operates under the Ministry of Trade and Labor to facilitate trade opportunities, joint ventures, an ...

, CEO of the

Ministry of Communications A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...

, CEO of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

, CEO of the

State Comptroller of Israel The State Comptroller of Israel ( he, מבקר המדינה ''Mevaker HaMedina'', ar, مراقب الدولة, literally: ''Critic of State'') inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government of the State of Israel. Th ...

's office, Chairman of commercial television Channel 10 and Chairman of the Hadassa Hospitals in Jerusalem.

Biography

Balashnikov is a widower and a father of four children. He lives in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He graduated from 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 ...

Political career and civil service

Balashnikov began his public career in 1988 as the parliament assistant of MK

Shimon Shetreet Professor Shimon Shetreet ( he, שמעון שטרית, born 1 March 1946) is a former Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios between 1992 and 1996. He is currently the Greenblatt Chair of Public and International Law at the H ...

. In the 1990s, he served as advisor to the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Avraham "Bayge" Shochat. After

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

established his administration in 1996, Balashnikov moved on to head the office of the Minister of Public Security. In 1999, he joined the businesswoman

Pnina Rosenblum Pnina Rosenblum ( he, פנינה רוזנבלום, born ) is an Israeli businesswoman, model, media personality, and a former politician. Former Knesset parliament member for Likud from 2005 to 2006. Biography Pnina Rosenblum was born in Petah T ...

and ran with her in the elections to the 15th Knesset as no. 2 in her independent party. The party failed to cross the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

. At the same year, he started working with the Minister of Environmental Protection,

Dalia Itzik Dalia Itzik ( he, דליה איציק ''Dalya Itsik''; born 20 October 1952) is a former Israeli politician who last served as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. She has previously served in several ministerial positions, and on 4 May 2006 beca ...

, as her senior advisor In 2002, Balashnikov became a senior advisor and the head of the minister office of trade and industry, all while serving as a member of the investment center’s administration of the state. During this year, Balashnikov became deputy director general of the

. In 2005, Balashnikov appointed to the CEO of the

and served under four ministers. On June 7, 2006, Balashnikov was appointed to the CEO of the

. the Israeli parliament. On February 12, 2007, Balashnikov appointed to acting CEO of the Presidential Residence. Balashnikov served , in parallel, in both roles up to the election of

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

as President. After the election in 2009, Balashnikov appointed by the Knesset to the CEO of the State Comptroller Office. He resigned his post after two months. Immediately after, Balashnikov was appointed as the Israeli representative of the American businessman

. In 2012 Balashnikov was appointed as the Channel 10 Chairman of the board, and in 2013 he was appointed also to Chairman of the Hadassa hospitals in Jerusalem. The hospital’s recovery program was signed during his tenure. Starting from 2014, he also serves as Chairman of the board of

Hagihon Hagihon Ltd. (Hebrew: הגיחון) is the municipal water and waste water works corporation for the city of Jerusalem, Israel. Since 2010, Hagihon also services the neighboring towns of Mevaseret Zion and Abu Gosh. Hagihon is Israel's largest w ...

, which is Israel’s largest

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

and

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

company. In early 2016, he was also appointed as Chairman of the board of the Jerusalem Waste Processing enterprise. From 2014, he has been on the board of the Haifa Technion. Since January 2018, he also serves as Chairman of the board of

. In 2018 and 2019, Balashnikov was appointed by the Minister of Education as a member of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balashnikov, Avi 1966 births Living people University of Haifa alumni Israeli chief executives Israeli civil servants