Alon Liel

Alon Liel was born in 1948 in Tel Aviv

Alon Liel was born in Tel Aviv in 1948 as Alon Lebel. His mother, Truda Daniela, was a German-born Holocaust survivor who came to the country in 1945. His father, Pinchas Lebel, was also born in Germany.

He served in the IDF as an armored corps officer and fought in the Battle of Karameh in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Hebrew University in 1972 and a master's degree from the London School of Economics in 1973. He received his doctorate in international relations from the Hebrew University in 1986.

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held posts in Chicago, Turkey and Atlanta, and served as the ministry's spokesperson. He was ambassador to South Africa from 1992 and then Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Planning from 1994 to 1996. From November 2000 to April 2001 he was Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1997 he founded the consulting firm Global Code and later lectured at several Israeli universities. From 2006 to 2008 he ran a private channel of secret talks with Syrian officials through Switzerland, with the government's knowledge. In 2012 he called for a boycott of settlement products, which drew criticism in Israel, and he later said he opposes a boycott of Israel.