Uri Savir ( he, אורי סביר; 7 January 1953 – 14 May 2022) was an Israeli diplomat and politician. He was Israel's chief negotiator for the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

and served as a

Member of Knesset Lists of Knesset members cover members of the Knesset of Israel. They are organized by session, by ethnicity and by position. By session * List of members of the first Knesset (1949–51) * List of members of the second Knesset (1951–55) * L ...

(MK) from 1999 to 2001.

Early life

Savir 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 ...

on 7 January 1953. His father, Leo, co-founded the Israeli Foreign Service. Savir studied at the

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

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.

Career

Savir first worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an information officer at the Israeli embassy in Canada, before acting as a

press officer A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

at the consulate in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He became the communications advisor 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 ...

in 1984, as well as one of his senior advisers. In that capacity, Savir participated in Peres' ground-breaking visit to Morocco in July 1986. Savir was subsequently appointed consul-general in New York in 1988, serving in that role for four years. Savir was named director-general of the Foreign Ministry in 1993 by Peres, who was

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 ...

in the second Rabin cabinet. During his tenure, he was the chief negotiator for the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

. His experience became the basis for his book ''The Process: 1,100 Days that Changed the Middle East'', published in 1998. He was also a member of the Israeli delegation for negotiations with Jordan that resulted in the

Israel–Jordan peace treaty The Israel–Jordan peace treaty (formally the "Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan"), he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל לירדן; transliterated: ''Heskem Ha-Shalom beyn Yisra'el Le-Yarden'' ...

in 1994, as well as head of the delegation for talks with Syria from 1995 to 1996. In the 1999 elections, Savir 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 th ...

on the Centre Party list. He and two other MKs left the Centre Party on 6 March 2001 to form the New Way faction. Three weeks later on 28 March, he resigned from the Knesset, and was replaced by David Magen, who represented the Centre Party. During Savir's time in the Knesset he served on a number of committees, including the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Savir established the Glocal Forum, a non-profit organization involved in international relations. He also co-founded the

Peres Center for Peace The Peres Center for Peace, located in Jaffa, Israel, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel Shimon Peres. Its aim is to further ...

in 1996 and served as its director-general until 1999. He later established the Facebook group titled "YaLa-Young Leaders", a peace movement for Middle Eastern and North African youths to foster dialogue and change with Israeli peers. It had more than 800,000 followers at the time of his death.

Personal life

Savir was married to Aliza until his death. Together, they had one daughter, Maya Savir. Savir died on 14 May 2022, at the age of 69. The cause of death was not disclosed.

References

External links

*
Glocal forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savir, Uri 1953 births 2022 deaths Politicians from Jerusalem Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Eritrea Centre Party (Israel) politicians New Way (Israel) politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli diplomats Israeli politicians