Politicsיעקב פרי

Jacob Perry

Ya'akov Peri is an Israeli security official, businessman and politician who headed the Shin Bet from 1988 and later served as Minister of Science, Technology and Space.

born 1944Heading the Shin BetLeading Cellcom IsraelMinister of Science, Technology and Space

Born: 20 February 1944, Tel Aviv
Occupation: politician, manager, chief executive officer
Party: Kadima, Yesh Atid
Education: Harvard University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University

Jacob Perry was born in 1944 in Tel Aviv

Peri was born in Tel Aviv on 20 February 1944 as Yaakov Pirzoner. His parents came from Poland, and the family moved to Netanya, where he grew up.

He received a medical exemption from the IDF. He studied for a BA at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and played the trumpet in orchestras when he was young.

He joined the Shin Bet in 1966 as a field officer in the Arab sector and rose through command posts. He became deputy director in 1987 and director in 1988, leading the service during the First Intifada and the Oslo Accords period. He retired in 1995.

From 1995 to 2003 he was CEO of Cellcom Israel. He later chaired the board of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank and other companies.

He entered the Knesset for Yesh Atid in 2013 and served as Minister of Science, Technology and Space until December 2014. He resigned from the Knesset in February 2018 after a television investigation, and admitted he had lied about doing military service. He then became president of CGI Group.

Jacob Perry's life in 8 milestones

1944
Born in Tel Aviv.
1966
Joined the Shin Bet.
1981
Became head of the Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria Command.
1988
Appointed head of the Shin Bet.
1995
Retired from the Shin Bet and became CEO of Cellcom.
2003
Left the management of Cellcom.
2013
Elected to the Knesset and named Minister of Science, Technology and Space.
2018
Resigned from the Knesset.