Haim Ramon, Labor

Haim Ramon is a Knesset Member, former minister and one of the leading members of the Labor Party. He is considered to be among the dovish members of the party.

Ramon was born in 1950 in Jaffa. He has a law degree from Tel Aviv University.

Ramon was drafted to the Israel Defense Forces in 1968 and attained the rank of captain in the Air Force.

From 1978-1089, Ramon was national secretary of the Labor Party's Young Guard. In 1983, he was elected to the Knesset for the first time.

From 1988-1992, Ramon served as Labor faction chairman.

From 1992-1994, he was Health Minister in the second government of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. From 1994-1995, Ramon was chairman of the Histadrut Labor Federation, the most powerful labor union in Israel.

Following Rabin's assassination in 1995, Ramon served as Interior Minister in the government of Prime Minister Shimon Peres from 1995-1996.

Ehud Barak, after being elected prime minister in 1999, appointed Ramon Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibilities for Jerusalem, government reform, and liaison between the government and the Knesset.