Dani Dayan

Dani Dayan was born in 1955 in Buenos Aires

Dani Dayan was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 29 November 1955. His father Moshe was a professor of oceanography and later Israel's ambassador to Guatemala, and his mother Tzipora was a social worker. The family moved to Israel in 1971 and settled in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

He served in the IDF's Mamram computer unit and was released as a captain. He earned a B.Sc. in economics and computer science at Bar-Ilan University and an M.Sc. in finance at Tel Aviv University.

In 1982 he founded the software firm Elad Systems, serving as CEO and later as chairman. When he sold his share in 2004, it employed over 500 professionals.

He joined the Tehiya party in 1985 and ran for the Knesset on its list in 1988 and 1992 without being elected. In 2007 he was elected chairman of the Yesha Council, the first secular person in the post, and he left it in 2013.

In 2015 he was named ambassador to Brazil, but Brazil delayed its approval. He then served as Consul General in New York from 2016 to 2020, and became chairman of Yad Vashem in 2021.