Ran Cohen

Ran Cohen was born in 1937 in Baghdad

Cohen was born Said Cohen in Baghdad, Iraq, to a traditional Zionist family. His father was a chief engineer at the Iraqi railway company. In January 1950 he came to Israel alone through Iran and grew up at kibbutz Gan Shmuel, where he took the name Ran.

He joined the IDF in August 1957 and served in the Artillery Corps and with the Paratroopers. He fought in the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War and Operation Peace for Galilee, and returned to service as a colonel in 1983. After his discharge he earned a B.A. in philosophy and economics at Tel Aviv University.

In 1970 he was elected secretary of Gan Shmuel. He was active in left wing movements and headed Sheli, then joined Ratz and entered the Knesset in 1984. He later served for Meretz, was Deputy Minister of Housing in 1992 and Minister of Industry and Trade in Ehud Barak's government.

In the Knesset he headed several committees and proposed the Public Housing Law and the Minimum Wage Law. He lost a race for the Meretz leadership in 2008 and announced his retirement from politics on 1 November 2008. In 2011 he became chairman of the Standards Institution of Israel. He lives in Mevaseret Zion, is married and has 4 children.