Dan Ashbel (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: דן אשבל; born 1949 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 ...

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 ...

) is a retired Israeli Ambassador

Biography

Dan Ashbel was born in

in 1949. He studied

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

and

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at 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 ...

. At a later stage he completed his

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

with a focus on the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Dan Ashbel is married to Zehava and they have three sons.

Professional career

From 1973 to 1975 Ashbel worked as a teacher at the

Kfar HaNoar HaDati Kfar HaNoar HaDati ( he, כפר הנוער הדתי, lit. ''The Religious Youth Village'') is a youth village in northern Israel. Adjacent to Kfar Hassidim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

High School in

Kfar Hasidim Kfar Hasidim ( he, כְּפַר חֲסִידִים, ''lit.'' Village of Hasidim), also known as Kfar Hasidim Alef to distinguish it from Kfar Hasidim Bet, is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Kiryat Ata, it falls under the jurisdiction of ...

near Haifa. In 1975 he joined Israel's diplomatic service, and in 1978 became First Secretary for press and cultural affairs at the embassy of Israel in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. This post ended in 1983. From 1983 to 1986, he held the posts of head of the director's office for the Center for Political Research and deputy press spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. Between 1986 and 1989 he was counselor and DCM at the Israeli embassy in Austria. In 1989, he took up a three-year post as press counselor at the Israeli embassy to the United Kingdom in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. During that period he participated in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991. Upon his return from London in 1992, Ashbel took over the responsibility for the Israeli cooperation program for

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n countries. Later, he became the director of the Training Division and Europe II Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem. From 1994 to 1996 he was an instructor at Israel's National Defense College. This was followed by the post of Israel's

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for the Mid-Atlantic region in the USA, based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

between 1997 and 2000. Ashbel then became director of the division of European Multilateral Institutions and coordinator for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed) in the Israeli Foreign Ministry. From March 2005 to October 2009, he was Israel's ambassador to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. This post included also the representation of Israel in the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

and the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna. From 2006 to 2009, he was also the non-resident ambassador of Israel to Slovenia. Since November 2009, Ashbel has been the Political Advisor to 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 ...

(Israel's Parliament). From September 2011 to April 2016 Dan Ashbel served as Israel's Ambassador to Finland and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashbel, Dan Israeli geographers Israeli Jews People from Tel Aviv Ambassadors of Israel to Austria 1949 births Living people University of Haifa alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Slovenia Ambassadors of Israel to Finland Israeli consuls Ambassadors of Israel to Estonia