Yair Lapid

Yair Lapid was born in 1963 in Tel Aviv

Lapid was born in Tel Aviv in 1963. His father was journalist and politician Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, and his mother is novelist and playwright Shulamit Lapid. He grew up in Tel Aviv and London and studied at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, leaving without a bagrut certificate.

He spent most of his army service as a correspondent for the military newspaper Bamahane. After his release he worked as a reporter for Maariv and published poetry.

In 1988 he became editor of a local Tel Aviv newspaper, and later wrote a weekly column for Maariv and then Yedioth Ahronoth. He hosted talk shows on television, acted in films, wrote books and songs, and in 2008 began presenting the Friday news program Ulpan Shishi.

In 2012 he left journalism and founded Yesh Atid, which won 19 seats in 2013. He served as finance minister from 2013 until Netanyahu dismissed him in 2014. In 2019 his party joined the Blue and White alliance.

He became Leader of the Opposition in 2020. In 2021 he formed a rotation government with Naftali Bennett and served as alternate prime minister and foreign minister. He was prime minister from July to December 2022 and then returned to lead the opposition.