Yossi Cohen

Yossi Cohen was born in 1961 in Jerusalem

Cohen was born in Jerusalem on 10 September 1961 to a religious family. His father Aryeh was an Irgun veteran and a senior official at Bank Mizrahi. His mother Mina was a teacher and school principal.

He was a member of the Bnei Akiva youth movement and graduated from Yeshivat Or Etzion. After his army service he studied at a university in London. In 1997 he completed a bachelor's degree in social sciences at Bar-Ilan University.

Cohen joined the Mossad in 1982 and worked as a case officer handling agents abroad. He headed the Tzomet division from 2006 and was deputy director from 2011 to 2013. In 2013 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named him National Security Advisor.

In January 2016 he succeeded Tamir Pardo as head of the Mossad. He oversaw the operation to take Iran's nuclear archive and took part in the talks that led to the Abraham Accords. He retired in June 2021.

In 2021 the Attorney General opened an investigation into a gift Cohen received from James Packer. In 2023 the investigation concluded that the gift had been approved by the Mossad's legal adviser. Cohen lives in Modi'in with his wife Aya, and they have 4 children.