Udi Zohar

Udi Zohar was born in 1955 in Jerusalem

Udi Zohar was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He attended the Yad Natan agricultural and technological boarding school in the Western Galilee. He later earned a bachelor's degree from Auburn University in the United States, and master's degrees from the University of Haifa and Tel Aviv University.

He joined the IDF in 1974 and completed the pilot course in 1976. He flew Skyhawk, Kfir and F-15 aircraft, took part in Operation Litani and fought in the First Lebanon War. He held command roles in the Flight Academy, commanded Wing 2 as a colonel and headed special means in the General Staff as a brigadier general, retiring in 2004.

In 2004 he became head of the civil aviation administration and reorganized it as an independent regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority. He advanced sport aviation rules and set up regulation of unmanned aircraft. He left in 2008, partly over disagreements with Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz.

In 2012 he became chairman and then CEO of Chim Nir, an aerial spraying and firefighting company. He was married to Bina and had 4 children. His daughter Michal was killed in a ramming attack in 2010, and he died at his home in Gilon in 2023.