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.

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 An ...

in Morocco, Shetreet's family made

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

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 stu ...

, winning the International Bible Contest at the age of 13. He went on to study law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gaining an LLB in 1968 and LLM 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 university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, where he gained an

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

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 Alfred Witkon (Hebrew: אלפרד ויתקון; February 23, 1910 – May 20, 1984) was an Israeli jurist who served as a judge on the Supreme Court of Israel. Biography Witkon was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. He studied la ...

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 list. After being re-elected in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

(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 A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

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 ...

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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 The following elections occurred in the year 1996. * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1996 Beninese presidential election * 1996 Comorian presidential election * 1996 New Zealand general election * 1996 Nicaraguan general electio ...

Shetreet lost his seat and his place in the cabinet. He was the One Israel candidate in the 1998 Jerusalem mayoral election, but lost to

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

, 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 research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

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