Mickey Levy ( he, מִיקִי לֵוִי, born 21 June 1951) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member 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 ...

for

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pr ...

and is a former

Speaker of the Knesset The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel whe ...

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

to immigrant parents who were

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

and Kurdish Jewish origin from

Cizre Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Di ...

, Turkey. He did his military service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

in the Paratroopers Brigade. After being discharged from the military, he joined the

Israel Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

and held a series of command positions. He served as head of

branch of the Israel Police between 2000 and 2004, winning the Knight of Good Government award in 2002. After retiring he worked as the Israeli police attaché in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

until 2007. He also gained a BA in political science 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 ...

and an MEd from the

University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ea ...

, as well as serving as CEO of the

Egged Ta'avura Egged Ta'avura ( he, אֶגֶד תַּעֲבוּרָה) is an Israeli bus company. It is a subsidiary of the Egged Bus Cooperative and Ta'avura Holdings, and was founded by a merger of two smaller Egged subsidiaries, following privatization and pub ...

bus company.Mickey Levy
Knesset Prior to the 2013 Knesset elections Levy joined the new Yesh Atid party, and was placed eleventh on its list. 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. He was placed eleventh on the party's list again for the

2015 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015. Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burun ...

, 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 Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...

and

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...

to form a "change" government, Levy was elected Speaker of the 24th Knesset on 13 June 2021, defeating Ya'akov Margi of Shas. Following the 2022 elections Levy was replaced as speaker by

Yariv Levin Yariv Gideon Levin (, born 22 June 1969) is an Israeli lawyer and politician who serves as Speaker of the Knesset since December 2022, previously serving that role from 2020 to 2021. He currently serves as a member of Knesset for Likud, and pre ...

Personal life

Levy has four children and lives in the

Mevasseret Zion Mevaseret Zion ( he, מְבַשֶּׂרֶת צִיּוֹן, literal meaning: Herald of Zion – Jerusalem) is a suburb of Jerusalem with the administrative status of a local council. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Mao ...

suburb of Jerusalem.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Mickey 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Derby Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Deputy ministers of Israel Israeli businesspeople Israeli Jews Israeli people of Kurdish-Jewish descent Israeli police officers Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Politicians from Jerusalem Speakers of the Knesset University of Haifa alumni Yesh Atid politicians