Twenty-eighth government of Israel

Barak cabinet

28th Cabinet of Israel
Date formed6 July 1999 (1999-07-06)
Date dissolved7 March 2001 (2001-03-07)
People and organisations
Head of stateEzer Weizman (until 13 July 2000)
Moshe Katzav (from 1 August 2000)
Head of governmentEhud Barak
Member partiesOne Israel
Centre Party
Gesher
Shas
Meretz
National Religious Party
Yisrael BaAliyah
United Torah Judaism (until September 1999)
Status in legislatureCoalition government
Opposition leaderAriel Sharon
History
Election1999
Legislature term15th Knesset
Predecessor27th government
Successor29th government

The twenty-eighth government of Israel was formed by Ehud Barak of One Israel on 6 July 1999 after his victory in the May election for Prime Minister. Alongside One Israel (an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher), Barak included Shas, Meretz, Yisrael BaAliyah, the Centre Party, the National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism in his coalition. The parties formed a center-left coalition.[1] United Torah Judaism left the government in September 1999 due to a dispute over the transport of a turbine on Shabbat.[2]

Following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the government began to fall apart. Barak called a special election for Prime Minister in February 2001, which he lost to Likud leader Ariel Sharon. Sharon went on to form the twenty-ninth government on 7 March.

Israeli government formation, 1999
← 1996 6 July 1999 2001 →
 
Nominee Ehud Barak Benjamin Netanyahu
Party One Israel Likud
Popular vote 1,791,020 1,402,474
Percentage 56.1% 43.9%
Prime Minister before election

Benjamin Netanyahu
Likud

Elected Prime Minister

Ehud Barak
One Israel

Cabinet members

Position Person Party
Prime Minister Ehud Barak One Israel
Deputy Prime Minister Yitzhak Mordechai (until 20 May 2000) Centre Party
David Levy (until 4 August 2000) Gesher
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer One Israel
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Haim Ramon One Israel
Minister of Agriculture Haim Oron (5 August 1999 - 24 June 2000) Meretz
Ehud Barak (from 24 June 2000) One Israel
Minister of Communications Binyamin Ben-Eliezer One Israel
Minister of Defense Ehud Barak One Israel
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Yossi Sarid (until 24 June 2000) Meretz
Ehud Barak (from 24 September 2000) One Israel
Minister of the Environment Dalia Itzik One Israel
Minister of Finance Avraham Shochat One Israel
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy (until 4 August 2000) One Israel
Shlomo Ben Ami (from 2 November 2000) One Israel
Minister of Health Shlomo Benizri (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Roni Milo (from 10 August 2000) Centre Party
Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzhak Levy (until 12 July 2000) National Religious Party
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (from 11 October 2000) One Israel
Minister of Immigrant Absorption Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) One Israel
Yuli Tamir (from 5 August 1999) Not an MK 1
Minister of Industry and Trade Ran Cohen (until 24 June 2000) Meretz
Ehud Barak (from 24 September 2000) One Israel
Minister of Internal Affairs Natan Sharansky (until 11 July 2000) Yisrael BaAliyah
Haim Ramon (from 11 October 2000) One Israel
Minister of Internal Security Shlomo Ben-Ami One Israel
Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin One Israel
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Eli Yishai (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Ra'anan Cohen (from 10 August 2000) One Israel
Minister of National Infrastructure Eli Suissa (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Avraham Shochat (from 11 October 2000) One Israel
Minister of Regional Co-operation Shimon Peres One Israel
Minister of Religious Affairs Yitzhak Cohen (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Yossi Beilin (from 11 October 2000) One Israel
Minister of Science 2 Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) One Israel
Matan Vilnai (from 5 August 1999) One Israel
Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs Michael Melchior One Israel
Minister of Tourism Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) One Israel
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (from 5 August 1999) Center Party
Minister of Transportation Yitzhak Mordechai (until 30 May 2000) Centre Party
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (from 11 October 2000) Center Party
Deputy Minister of Communications Yitzhak Vaknin (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Deputy Minister of Defense Efraim Sneh One Israel
Deputy Minister of Education Meshulam Nahari (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Shaul Yahalom (until 12 July 2000) National Religious Party
Deputy Minister of Finance Nissim Dahan (until 11 July 2000) Shas
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nawaf Massalha One Israel
Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption Marina Solodkin (until 11 July 2000) Yisrael BaAliyah
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Yigal Bibi (until 12 July 2000) National Religious Party

1 Although Tamir was not a Knesset member at the time, she was later elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list.

2 The name of the post was changed to Minister of Science, Culture and Sport when Vilnai took office.

References

  1. ^ Shmuel Sandler, Manfred Gerstenfeld & Hillel Frisch, ed. (2011). Israel at the Polls 2009. Routledge. p. 111. The same factors apparently explain the zigzagging in IB's political tactics. In the 1999 elections, the party received four Knesset seats. It joined the right-wing National Union bloc in opposition to Ehud Barak's centre-left government.
  2. ^ Factional and Government Make-Up of the Fifteenth Knesset Knesset website