# Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel)

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hebrew: מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, romanized: Misrad HaHutz; Arabic: وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located in the government complex in Givat Ram, Jerusalem. Gideon Sa'ar currently holds the Foreign Ministry post.

## History

In the early months of 1948, when the government of the future State of Israel was being formed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was housed in a building in the abandoned Templer village of Sarona, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Moshe Sharett, formerly head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, was placed in charge of foreign relations, with Walter Eytan as Director General.
In November 2013, the longest labor dispute in the history of the Foreign Ministry's workers union came to an end when diplomats signed an agreement that would increase their salaries and improve their working conditions. A new organization was founded, the Israeli Association for Diplomacy, with the mission of promoting the interests of Foreign Ministry staff. In response to issues raised, MK Ronen Hoffman arranged for the Knesset to launch a caucus entitled the "Caucus for the strengthening of the foreign service and Israeli diplomacy" in December 2014. Joined by politicians across the political spectrum, Hoffman said, "As long as the security establishment and the army are preferred over the foreign service, national security is damaged. A country whose foreign service doesn't take a central position doesn't act in the best national interest."

## Diplomatic relations

Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 159 countries. It operates 77 embassies, 19 consulates-general and 5 special missions: a mission to the United Nations (New York), a mission to the United Nations institutions in Geneva, a mission to the United Nations institutions in Paris, a mission to the United Nations institutions in Vienna and an ambassador to the European Union (Brussels).
In October 2000, Morocco, Tunisia and the Sultanate of Oman closed the Israeli offices in their countries and suspended relations with Israel. Niger, which renewed relations with Israel in November 1996, severed them in April 2002. Venezuela and Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with Israel in January 2009, in the wake of the IDF operation against Hamas in Gaza.

## Foreign ministry building

The new building of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kiryat Ben-Gurion, the government complex near the Knesset, was designed by Jerusalem architects Kolker, Kolker and Epstein in association with Diamond, Donald, Schmidt & Co. of Toronto. The building consists of three wings: One houses the offices of the Foreign Minister and director-general, another houses the diplomatic corps and the library, and the third is used for receptions. The outside walls of the reception hall incorporate onyx plates that diffuse an amber light. In June 2001, the design won the prize for excellence from the Royal Institute of Architects of Canada. The building is described as a "sophisticated essay in the play between solid and void, mass and volume, and light and shadow."

## List of ministers

The Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel (Hebrew: שר החוץ, Sar HaHutz) is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position is one of the most important in the Israeli cabinet after Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
| # | Minister | Party | Governments | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| 1 | Moshe Sharett | Mapai | P, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 15 May 1948 | 18 June 1956 | Serving Prime Minister 1954–1955 |
| 2 | Golda Meir | Mapai Alignment | 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 | 18 June 1956 | 12 January 1966 | |
| 3 | Abba Eban | Alignment Labor Party Alignment | 13, 14, 15, 16 | 13 January 1966 | 2 June 1974 | |
| 4 | Yigal Allon | Alignment | 17 | 3 June 1974 | 19 June 1977 | |
| 5 | Moshe Dayan | Independent | 18 | 20 June 1977 | 23 October 1979 | |
| 6 | Menachem Begin | Likud | 18 | 23 October 1979 | 10 March 1980 | Serving Prime Minister |
| 7 | Yitzhak Shamir | Likud | 18, 19, 20, 21 | 10 March 1980 | 20 October 1986 | Serving Prime Minister 1983–1984 |
| 8 | Shimon Peres | Alignment | 22 | 20 October 1986 | 23 December 1988 | |
| 9 | Moshe Arens | Likud | 23 | 23 December 1988 | 12 June 1990 | |
| 10 | David Levy | Likud | 24 | 13 June 1990 | 13 July 1992 | |
| – | Shimon Peres | Labor Party | 25 | 14 July 1992 | 22 November 1995 | |
| 11 | Ehud Barak | Labor Party | 26 | 22 November 1995 | 18 June 1996 | Not a Knesset member |
| – | David Levy | Gesher | 27 | 18 June 1996 | 6 January 1998 | |
| 12 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud | 27 | 6 January 1998 | 13 October 1998 | Serving Prime Minister |
| 13 | Ariel Sharon | Likud | 27 | 13 October 1998 | 6 June 1999 | |
| – | David Levy | One Israel | 28 | 6 June 1999 | 4 August 2000 | |
| – | Ehud Barak | One Israel | 28 | 4 August 2000 | 10 August 2000 | Serving Prime Minister |
| 14 | Shlomo Ben-Ami | One Israel | 28 | 10 August 2000 | 7 March 2001 | |
| – | Shimon Peres | Labor Party | 29 | 7 March 2001 | 2 October 2002 | |
| – | Ariel Sharon | Likud | 29 | 2 October 2002 | 6 November 2002 | Serving Prime Minister |
| – | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud | 29 | 6 November 2002 | 28 February 2003 | |
| 15 | Silvan Shalom | Likud | 30 | 28 February 2003 | 16 January 2006 | |
| 16 | Tzipi Livni | Kadima | 31 | 18 January 2006 | 1 April 2009 | |
| 17 | Avigdor Lieberman | Yisrael Beiteinu | 32 | 1 April 2009 | 18 December 2012 | |
| – | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud | 32, 33 | 18 December 2012 | 11 November 2013 | Serving Prime Minister |
| – | Avigdor Lieberman | Yisrael Beiteinu | 33 | 11 November 2013 | 6 May 2015 | |
| – | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud | 34 | 14 May 2015 | 17 February 2019 | Serving Prime Minister |
| 18 | Yisrael Katz | Likud | 34 | 17 February 2019 | 17 May 2020 | |
| 19 | Gabi Ashkenazi | Blue and White | 35 | 17 May 2020 | 13 June 2021 | |
| 20 | Yair Lapid | Yesh Atid | 36 | 13 June 2021 | 29 December 2022 | Serving Prime Minister |
| 21 | Eli Cohen | Likud | 37 | 29 December 2022 | 1 January 2024 | |
| – | Yisrael Katz | Likud | 37 | 1 January 2024 | 5 November 2024 | |
| 22 | Gideon Sa'ar | New Hope | 37 | 5 November 2024 | | |

### Deputy ministers

| # | Minister | Party | Governments | Term start | Term end |
| 1 | Yehuda Ben-Meir | National Religious Party Gesher ZRC | 19, 20 | 11 August 1981 | 13 September 1984 |
| 2 | Roni Milo | Likud | 21 | 24 September 1984 | 20 October 1986 |
| 3 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud | 23, 24 | 26 December 1988 | 11 November 1991 |
| 4 | Yossi Beilin | Labor Party | 25 | 4 August 1992 | 17 July 1995 |
| 5 | Eli Dayan | Labor Party | 26 | 24 July 1995 | 18 June 1996 |
| 6 | Nawaf Massalha | One Israel | 28 | 5 August 1999 | 7 March 2001 |
| 7 | Michael Melchior | Meimad | 29 | 7 March 2001 | 26 March 2001 |
| 8 | Majalli Wahabi | Kadima | 31 | 29 October 2007 | 31 March 2009 |
| 9 | Danny Ayalon | Yisrael Beiteinu | 32 | 31 March 2009 | 18 March 2013 |
| 10 | Ze'ev Elkin | Likud | 33 | 18 March 2013 | 12 May 2014 |
| 11 | Tzachi Hanegbi | Likud | 33 | 2 June 2014 | 6 May 2015 |
| 12 | Tzipi Hotovely | Likud | 34 | 19 May 2015 | 21 April 2020 |
| 13 | Idan Roll | Yesh Atid | 36 | 12 June 2021 | 29 December 2022 |