Amnon Lipkin - Shahak Rav Aluf ( ret . ) Amnon Lipkin - Shahak ( , March 18 , 1944 – December 19 , 2012 ) was an Israeli military officer and politician . He served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , as a Member of the Knesset , and as Minister of Transportation and Tourism . Military service . After finishing his studies at the military boarding school in Haifa in 1962 , he enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade . In 1965 , he became a company commander in the newly established 202nd battalion of the brigade . As a company commander , he participated in reprisal operations preceding the Six Day War . During the war , he served as acting deputy battalion commander . After the war , he took command of the Duchifat unit ( Sayeret ) of the brigade and participated in Operation Inferno , where he was awarded the Medal of Courage for " his leadership and courage under fire . " After graduating from the Command and General Staff School in 1971 , he was appointed commander of the Nahal Airborne Battalion . Under his command , the battalion took part in many operations , mainly in the area of Lebanon . In April 1973 , as a part of Operation Spring of Youth , he assaulted PFLP headquarters in Beirut , and was decorated with a second Medal of Courage for " his leadership in action . " During the Yom Kippur War , he served as deputy commander of the Paratroopers Brigade and fought in the Battle of the Chinese Farm , contained Egypt ian forces at Ismailia , and defended the Sinai desert . After the war , he was assigned as the operations officer for Central Command , and was sent to the U . S . Marine ' s general staff command course in the United States . In 1976 , Lipkin - Shahak was promoted to Colonel and became head of the reservist Paratroopers Brigade . In 1977 , he was appointed the head of the regular Paratroopers Brigade . During this period , the Brigade took part in several operations along all of Israel ' s borders , including extensive operations in Lebanon , including taking part in Operation Litani over the border . After finishing his term as commander of the brigade , he was appointed as a commander of a reservist armored division , and in 1982 became commander of the Steel Formation . While serving as the Division ' s commander , he served as the commander of the Beirut region after the First Lebanon War . In 1983 , Lipkin - Shahak was appointed the Head of Central Command . From 1986 to 1991 he served as Head of Intelligence , and during those years , among other things , prepared the IDF during the developments that led to the Gulf War . In 1991 , he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff , and during this role served as the commander of Operation Solomon , which brought 15 , 000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel . On January 1 , 1995 , he became Chief of Staff of the IDF , succeeding Ehud Barak . Lipkin - Shahak retired from the IDF in 1998 . He was succeeded as Chief of Staff by Shaul Mofaz . Political career . After retiring from the army he expressed dovish opinions and severely criticized then - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . He called for the establishment of a centrist party that would include representatives of large parts of the public . “ The Labor Party alone will not be able to achieve peace because of the leftist image that has attached to it , while a new centrist party that would include right - wing forces will succeed , ” he said . On 7 June 1999 he entered the 15th Knesset as a member of the Center Party . On 5 August , he was appointed Minister of Tourism . On 11 October 2001 , he was appointed Transport Minister . On 6 March 2001 , the New Way faction , which included Lipkin - Shahak , split off from the Center Party . On 8 March , he resigned from the Knesset . After his resignation , Lipkin - Shahak was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tahal Group . In 2003 Lipkin - Shahak joined the Labor Party , took part in the Geneva Initiative talks and signed the agreement . In April 2008 , Lipkin - Shahak signed a letter of support for the recently created J Street American Jewish pro - peace lobby group . Personal life . He was married to journalist Tali Lipkin - Shahak and had five children . He earned a B . A . in general history from Tel Aviv University . In 1994 , while serving as Deputy Chief of Staff , he said in an interview that four years earlier he was diagnosed with leukemia , but had since recovered . When it was discovered he had been serving as Director of Military Intelligence , and while battling it , then - Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin allowed him to travel abroad for medical consultations . Death . On 19 December 2012 , Amnon Lipkin - Shahak died in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem at noon , after a long battle with cancer .