Meir Sheetrit

Meir Sheetrit was born in 1948 in Errachidia

Sheetrit was born in Ksar es Souk, now Errachidia, in Morocco. His family immigrated to Israel in 1957. They lived first in Netivot and then moved to Yavne.

He went to high school at the Amit school in Kfar Batya and then studied at Bar-Ilan University. He holds a bachelor's degree in microbiology, a master's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in public policy.

In the IDF he served as a medic and later became a medical organization officer. He ended his service as a major in the Medical Corps.

He led Yavne from 1974 and became its first mayor when it gained city status in 1986. He entered the Knesset for Likud in 1981, was treasurer of the Jewish Agency from 1988 to 1992, and returned to the Knesset in 1992. He served as Minister of Finance, Justice, Transportation, Education, Housing and the Interior, moving to Kadima in 2005 and to Hatnuah in 2012.

He ran for President of Israel in 2014 and lost to Reuven Rivlin in the second round. He did not run in the 2015 elections. In 2018 he ran for mayor of Yavne and was defeated.