Eyal Gabbai

Eyal Gabbai was born in 1967 in Jerusalem

Eyal Gabbai was born in Jerusalem in 1967 and grew up there, one of four children. His parents were Israeli-born teachers, and his grandparents came from Persia. He attended Himmelfarb High School.

He served as a balloon officer in the Intelligence Corps. He studied economics and law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later earned an MBA in finance there. He worked with the Israel Democracy Institute and interned at the Supreme Court under Justice Dalia Dorner.

In 1996 he became an adviser to Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, and in 1998 he was put in charge of economic affairs at the Prime Minister's Office. From 1999 to 2000 he was a deputy CEO at Bezeq International. In 2002 he became Director of the Government Companies Authority, where he oversaw the privatization of El Al, Bezeq, the oil refineries and ZIM.

In May 2009 he was appointed Director General of the Prime Minister's Office under Benjamin Netanyahu. He handled disputes such as the Bank of Israel Law and a prosecutors' strike, and he led a committee on Haredi conscription. He resigned in September 2011 and later became chairman of Meuhedet Health Fund.