Amnon Lipkin-Shahak

Amnon Lipkin-Shahak was born in 1944 in Tel Aviv

Lipkin-Shahak was born in Tel Aviv in 1944 to Zvi and Sarah, the younger brother of Yaacov and Tamar. He was a great-grandson of Yitzhak Lipkin, who financed the building of neighborhoods in Jerusalem. He attended the military boarding school in Haifa and later earned a B.A. in general history from Tel Aviv University.

He joined the Paratroopers in 1962 and rose through command posts, earning the Medal of Courage twice. He later led the Paratroopers Brigade, armored divisions, Central Command and Military Intelligence. As Deputy Chief of Staff he commanded Operation Solomon, which brought 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

He became Chief of Staff on January 1, 1995, succeeding Ehud Barak, and retired in 1998. During his term he changed the IDF approach to fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and ordered the reestablishment of the Egoz unit.

In 1999 he entered the Knesset with the Center Party and served as Minister of Tourism and Minister of Transport. He left the Knesset in 2001 after the New Way faction split off. He then chaired the board of the Tahal Group, joined the Labor Party in 2003 and signed the Geneva Initiative.

He was married to journalist Tali Lipkin-Shahak and had 5 children. He died of cancer at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem in 2012.