Carmi Gillon

Carmi Gillon was born in 1950 in Jerusalem

Gillon was born in Jerusalem in January 1950 to a family of jurists. His father, Colin Gillon, was State Attorney, and his mother, Saada, was Deputy Attorney General. His grandfather Gad Frumkin was a judge on the Supreme Court during the British Mandate.

He attended high school in Rehavia and the Academy of Music. He served in the IDF, was wounded in the War of Attrition, and was discharged in 1971. He studied political science at the Hebrew University and later earned an M.A. in public policy from the University of Haifa.

The Shin Bet recruited him in 1972, and he began as a bodyguard. He headed the Jewish Department from 1982, then the Training Division, the Northern Command and the Administrative Division. In March 1995 he became director of the Shin Bet.

On 4 November 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated after the protection unit failed to stop the gunman. Gillon offered his resignation, which Shimon Peres rejected, and he left office in February 1996. The Shamgar Commission criticized the Shin Bet under his leadership, and human rights groups criticized interrogation methods used during his term.

From 1997 to 1999 he was CEO of Avner insurance company, and in late 1999 he became director general of the Peres Center for Peace. He later served as ambassador to Denmark and as head of the Mevaseret Zion council. He is married to Sari and has 3 children.