# Twenty-third government of Israel

The twenty-third government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud on 22 December 1988, following the November 1988 elections. The government remained a national unity coalition between Likud and the Alignment, with the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah also being members of the coalition. It was the first government to have a Minister of the Environment.
In 1990, after Shamir refused to accept a peace initiative developed by United States Secretary of State James Baker, the Alignment filed a motion of no-confidence in the government. Shamir fired all the Alignment ministers, but the vote was passed by 60–55, meaning that President Chaim Herzog had to ask one of the party leaders to form a new government. It was the first, and to date, only time which a government was brought down by a no confidence motion. Herzog initially asked Alignment leader Shimon Peres to form a new government, but after Peres was unable to, turned to Shamir, who successfully formed the twenty-fourth government on 11 June. The incident became known as the dirty trick.

## Cabinet members

| Position | Person | Party |
| Prime Minister | Yitzhak Shamir | Likud |
| Acting Prime Minister | Shimon Peres (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Deputy Prime Minister | David Levy | Likud |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Yitzhak Navon (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Agriculture | Avraham Katz-Oz (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Communications | Gad Yaacobi (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Defense | Yitzhak Rabin (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Economics and Planning | Yitzhak Moda'i | Likud |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Yitzhak Navon (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Energy and Infrastructure | Moshe Shahal (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of the Environment | Roni Milo (until 7 March 1990) | Likud |
| Minister of the Environment | Rafael Edri (7–15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Finance | Shimon Peres (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Moshe Arens | Likud |
| Minister of Health | Ya'akov Tzur (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Housing and Construction | David Levy | Likud |
| Minister of Immigrant Absorption | Yitzhak Peretz | Shas |
| Minister of Industry and Trade | Ariel Sharon (until 20 February 1990) | Likud |
| Minister of Industry and Trade | Moshe Nissim (from 20 February 1990) | Likud |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Aryeh Deri | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Justice | Dan Meridor | Likud |
| Minister of Labour and Social Welfare | Yitzhak Shamir (until 7 March 1990) | Likud |
| Minister of Labour and Social Welfare | Roni Milo (from 7 March 1990) | Likud |
| Minister of Police | Haim Bar-Lev (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Religious Affairs | Zevulun Hammer | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Science and Development | Ezer Weizman (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister of Tourism | Avraham Sharir | Likud |
| Minister of Transportation | Moshe Katsav | Likud |
| Minister without Portfolio | Rafael Edri (until 7 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister without Portfolio | Moshe Nissim (until 7 March 1990) | Likud |
| Minister without Portfolio | Mordechai Gur (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Minister without Portfolio | Ehud Olmert | Likud |
| Minister without Portfolio | Avner Shaki (from 27 December 1988) | National Religious Party |
| Minister without Portfolio | David Magen | Likud |
| Deputy Minister of Finance | Yossi Beilin (until 15 March 1990) | Alignment |
| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs | Benjamin Netanyahu | Likud |
| Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs | Rafael Pinhasi | Shas |
| Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare | Moshe Ze'ev Feldman | Agudat Yisrael |
$^1$ Although Deri was not a Knesset member at the time, he was a member of Shas.