Nir Barkat

Nir Barkat was born in 1959 in Jerusalem

Nir Barkat was born on 19 October 1959 and grew up in Jerusalem. His father Zalman was a physics professor at the Hebrew University, and his mother Shulamit was a folk dancing instructor.

He joined the IDF in 1977 and served in the Paratroopers, where he became a company commander. He later earned a BA in computer science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In 1988 he cofounded BRM, a software company that developed antivirus software and later invested in firms such as Check Point and BackWeb. He also helped found the social investment network IVN and the educational website Snunit.

In 2003 he founded the Jerusalem Will Succeed party and lost the mayoral race, then led the opposition on the city council. He was elected mayor in 2008 with 52% of the vote and reelected in 2013, taking a salary of one shekel a year. After the 2013 campaign he was fined for improper use of election funds.

He joined Likud in 2015 and entered the Knesset in 2019. That year he published an autobiography, and he later became Minister of Economy.