Minister of Defense

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Yoav Gallant was born on November 8, 1958.

He joined the IDF in 1974, volunteering for service in the “Shayetet 13" commando unit. Over his 35 years in the army, he held various senior combat and command roles, overseeing secret military operations. Among these, he commanded an IDF missile ship, led “Shayetet 13", the Menashe Brigade, the Gaza Division, the “Idan" Armored Division, and served as Ground Forces Chief of Staff, Military Secretary to the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Commander of the Southern Command. He retired in 2011 as a Major General.

Minister Gallant has been deeply involved in community work, serving as chairman of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), co-founding the “Impact" fund, sitting on the executive committee of “HaShomer HaChadash" – Pioneer Israel organization, and serving as a board member of “Madatech".

In 2015, he joined the “Kulanu" party and was elected to the Knesset for the first time. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister of Construction and Housing, later becoming an observer in the Political-Security Cabinet. After joining the “Likud" party, he served as Minister of Immigration and Absorption before assuming the role of Minister of Education in the Netanyahu-Gantz government. He also held other positions as a member of the political-security cabinet, the housing cabinet, the ministerial committee for immigration and absorption, the ministerial committee for the development of the Negev and the Galilee, and more.

Minister Gallant graduated with a bachelor's degree with honors in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Haifa, and he also completed the senior management program at the Harvard Business School.

He lives in Moshav Amikam, is married to Claudine, and has 3 children.​