Dan Harel

Dan Harel was born in 1955 in Haifa

Dan Harel was born in 1955 in Haifa, where he grew up. As a teenager he studied electronics at a technical school in the city. He was a member of a Hashomer Hatzair group at Kibbutz Metzer before joining the army.

He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Haifa. He also completed the IDF brigade commanders' course and the US Army advanced artillery officers' course.

Harel began in flight school in 1974 and moved to the Artillery Corps in 1976. He rose to chief artillery officer, military secretary to the defense minister, armored division commander and head of the Operations Directorate. He led Southern Command from 2003, including the 2005 Gaza disengagement, then served as IDF attaché in the United States and as Deputy Chief of the General Staff from 2007 to 2009.

In 2011 he served as Director General of the Ministry of Transportation. From 2013 to 2016 he was Director General of the Ministry of Defense. He later chaired the boards of Ayalon Highways and Israel Railways, resigning from the railway in 2020.

In 2020 he stated to the High Court that the Prime Minister's Office pressed him to buy a seventh submarine. He received the Knight of Quality Government award in 2017. He is married with children and lives in Modiin-Maccabim-Reut.