Politicsנעמי בן עמי

Naomi Ben-Ami

Naomi Ben-Ami is an Israeli diplomat who headed Nativ, the liaison bureau, as the first woman in that role.

born 1960Heading the Nativ liaison bureauAmbassador to Ukraine

Occupation: politician, diplomat
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gymnasia Rehavia

Naomi Ben-Ami was born in 1960 in Chernivtsi

Naomi Ben-Ami was born in 1960 in Chernivtsi, in Soviet Ukraine. She spent most of her childhood in Kazakhstan, where her parents worked. In 1973 the family immigrated to Israel and lived in Dimona and then in Jerusalem.

She went to high school at Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem. After her army service she studied international relations and Russian studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In the IDF she served as a secretary in the Central Command.

She joined the Foreign Ministry and held diplomatic posts that included Lisbon, Riga and the embassy in Moscow, where she was a political advisor. From 2003 to 2006 she was ambassador to Ukraine and also non-resident ambassador to Moldova. She was then chosen by a search committee and appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to head Nativ, replacing Zvi Magen.

After her term at Nativ ended in 2015, she became a director at Africa Israel, the company of Lev Leviev. She is married to Udi, whom she met at the Foreign Ministry, and has 2 children.