Mike Herzog

Mike Herzog was born in 1952 in Washington, D.C.

Herzog was born in Washington, D.C., in 1952, while his father Chaim Herzog served as the IDF attaché at Israel's embassy there. His father later became Israel's sixth president, and his brother Isaac Herzog became the 11th president. His grandfather was Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, chief rabbi of Ireland and Israel.

He studied at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree from the University of Haifa, and he graduated from the National Security College.

He trained as an infantry soldier and fought in the Yom Kippur War. He served in the Intelligence Corps from 1974 to 1994 and later headed the Strategic Division in the Planning Directorate. He was military secretary or chief of staff to defense ministers Shaul Mofaz, Amir Peretz and Ehud Barak, and retired in 2010.

Since 1993 he took part in peace talks with the Palestinians, Syrians and Jordanians, including Wye Plantation, Camp David, Taba and Annapolis. He was a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Jewish People Policy Institute. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appointed him ambassador to the United States, and he served from November 2021 until January 24, 2025.

In 2025 he received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University. He is married to attorney Shirin Herzog, and they have 2 children.