Shimon Sheetrit

Shimon Sheetrit was born in 1946 in Erfoud

Shetreet was born in Erfoud, Morocco, the ninth child in a family of 11 children. The family emigrated to Israel in 1949 and lived in tents in Pardes Hanna before settling in Tiberias, where he grew up. In 1959 he won the children's Bible Contest, and David Ben-Gurion presented him with the prize.

After serving in the Intelligence Corps, he studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning an LLB in 1968 and an LLM in 1970. He also studied Arabic language and literature there. He completed a doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1973.

He clerked for Supreme Court judge Alfred Witkon from 1967 and joined the Bar Association in 1969. He taught law at the Hebrew University, became an associate professor in 1984 and a full professor in 2001. He has published 30 books.

He entered the Knesset in 1988 with the Alignment. After the 1992 election he served in Yitzhak Rabin's government as Minister of Economics and Planning, Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Religious Affairs. He lost his seat in 1996.

In 1998 he ran for mayor of Jerusalem and lost to Ehud Olmert. He then served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem until 2003. He is married to Miriam, a social worker, and they have 4 children.