Shlomo Ben-Ami

Shlomo Ben-Ami was born in 1943 in Tangier

Shlomo Ben-Ami was born Shlomo Benabou in Tangier, in Spanish Morocco, on 17 July 1943. His father was a merchant. The family moved to Israel in 1955, and he grew up in Afikim and later in Kiryat Shmona.

He joined the IDF in 1962 and served in the Golani Brigade, leaving the army in 1965 and changing his surname. He earned his first and second degrees at Tel Aviv University. He then received a doctorate in history from Oxford, focusing on 20th century Spain.

He began teaching at Tel Aviv University in 1971 and headed its School of History from 1982 to 1986. He wrote on Spanish history, including a 1983 study of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. From 1987 to 1991 he was Israel's ambassador to Spain and took part in the Madrid Conference delegation.

He entered the Knesset for the Labor Party in 1996. In 1999 he became Minister of Internal Security, and in November 2000 he was also appointed Foreign Minister. The Or Commission criticized his conduct during the October 2000 events and recommended he not serve again as Internal Security Minister.

He refused to serve in Ariel Sharon's government and left the Knesset in 2002. He co-founded the Toledo International Centre for Peace and has worked on conflict resolution in several countries. He received Spanish citizenship in 2017.