Ran Goren

Ran Goren was born in 1942 in Merhavia

Goren was born in 1942 in Kibbutz Merhavia. His parents, Shoshanna and Abraham, were both teachers. At 14 he joined the Youth Air Battalion, took gliding courses and traveled with its delegation to the United States.

He entered pilot training in 1961 and became a fighter pilot. He flew in the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, and later commanded the 107 Squadron. He headed IAF operations and in 1980 went to study business administration at the Naval Postgraduate School in California, graduating with honors.

He later commanded Hatzor Airbase and headed the Air Division. In 1987 he became Chief of Staff of the Air Force, where he worked to stop the Lavi fighter project and led alternative procurement plans. In 1989 he was appointed Head of the Manpower Directorate as a Major General, and he retired in 1992.

After retiring he ran companies, served as a director and was Ehud Barak's chief of staff in the 1996 Labor primaries. Since 2001 he has owned and led Shirgal-Knafaim, a pilot training college. He has published novels, including Vertigo in 2011, and an autobiography in 2022.