Professor Shimon Shetreet ( he, שמעון שטרית, born 1 March 1946) is a former

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 ...

i politician who held several ministerial portfolios between 1992 and 1996. He is currently the Greenblatt Chair of Public and International Law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem 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 ...

Early life

Born in

Erfoud Erfoud ( ber, ⴰⵔⴼⵓⴷ, Latn, ber, Arfud; ar, أرفود) is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, eastern Morocco. It is divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Ann ...

in Morocco, Shetreet's family made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

in 1949 when he was three years old. He attended a religious elementary school, before studying at a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

, winning the

International Bible Contest The International Bible Contest ( he, חידון התנ"ך; ''Hidon HaTanakh'' also spelled ''Chidon HaTanach'' or ''Jidon Hatanaj'' mong Spanish and Portuguese speaking Jews is a worldwide competition on the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) for middle scho ...

at the age of 13. He went on to study law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gaining an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1968 and

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in 1970. He then went on to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, where he gained an LLD in 1973.Prof. Shimon Shetreet
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Legal career

Shetreet began working as a clerk to

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judge Alfred Witkon in 1967, and was admitted to the Bar Association in 1969. In 1980 he was a member of the commission on the Israeli Court System, and was involved in founding the Public Law Association in 1987.

Political career

In 1988 Shetreet was elected 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 ...

on the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

list. After being re-elected in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

(by which time the Alignment had merged into the Labor Party), Shetreet was appointed Minister of Economics and Planning and Minister of Science and Technology in

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. He lost the latter portfolio in June 1993 when it was given to

Shulamit Aloni Shulamit Aloni ( he, שולמית אלוני; 29 December 1928 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, and served as Minister of Edu ...

, but also became Minister of Religious Affairs in February 1992. When Shimon Peres formed a new government following the assassination of Rabin, he remained Minister of Religious Affairs, but lost the Economics and Planning portfolio. In the 1996 elections Shetreet lost his seat and his place in the cabinet. He was the

One Israel One Israel ( he, ישראל אחת, ''Yisrael Ahat'') was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections. Background One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 19 ...

candidate in the

1998 Jerusalem mayoral election Elections are held in Jerusalem to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to elect mayors to five-year terms. General history Prior to a 1975 national law change, mayors were chosen by the city council (which ...

, but lost to Ehud Olmert, finishing second with 23% of the vote. In 1999 he was chosen to be deputy mayor of

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

, a post he held until 2003. On 7 September 2020, Shetreet announced that he would run in the 2021 presidential election.

Academic career

Shetreet returned to the Hebrew University to work as a professor of law. He currently heads the Sacher Institute of Legislative Research and Comparative Law, as well as holding the Greenblatt chair. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law,

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

and the University of San Diego.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shetreet, Shimon 1946 births 20th-century Moroccan Jews Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Israeli lawyers Living people Israeli Labor Party politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty People from Erfoud Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Deputy Mayors of Jerusalem