Avihu Ben-Nun

Avihu Ben-Nun was born in 1939 in Binyamina-Giv'at Ada

Avihu Ben-Nun was born in 1939 in Giv'at Ada, the eldest of 3 children. His parents came from Poland and were members of Hashomer Hatzair. The family moved to Haifa in 1942 and later to Kiryat Yam.

He joined the air force youth program and later graduated from the US Air Force college in Alabama. He also studied business administration.

He enlisted in the Air Force in 1957 and became a fighter pilot. He commanded squadrons in the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition and shot down several enemy aircraft. He later headed Air Force operations, commanded air bases and led the IDF Planning Directorate.

In 1987 he became commander of the Air Force, replacing Amos Lapidot. During his term the Air Force began operating Apache helicopters and received more F-16 jets. He handed command to Herzl Bodinger in 1992.

In 1993 he became chairman of UMI, the importer of General Motors cars. In 2004 he founded FIRST Israel, which encourages young people to build robots. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995, is married to Ariela, has 5 children and lives in Moshav Shdema.