Yael "Yuli" Tamir

Yael "Yuli" Tamir is an Israeli academic and former Israeli politician and cabinet minister.

Tamir (born February 26, 1954) was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. For her compulsory military service in the IDF, Tamir served in a military intelligence unit. During the Yom Kippur War, she served as an officer in an outpost on the Sinai. Tamir completed her service with the rank of Lieutenant.

Tamir received a B.A. cum laude in Biology from the Hebrew University in 1978 and an M.A. in Political Science in 1985, as well as a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Oxford University in England (1989).

Tamir is a Professor of Political Philosophy at Tel-Aviv University and served as a Research Fellow at Princeton and Harvard universities as well as the Hartman Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She served as a member of the board of directors of the Jerusalem Foundation and the Israel Institute of Democracy. Prof. Tamir has authored several books as well as articles on liberalism, nationalism, feminism, and the theory of rights.

In 1978, she was one of the founders of the Peace Now movement and a member of the Women's Lobby. From 1998-1999 she served as Chairperson of the Civil Rights Organization and was active in the Israel Labor Party from 1995-1999.

Despite not being a member of the Knesset, Tamir was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak as Minister of Immigrant Absorption in August 1999 and served in the position until March 2001.

In 2003, Tamir was elected to the Knesset for the Labor Party. She would serve as a Member of the Knesset Finance, Constitution, Law and Justice, and Education, Culture and Sports Committees, as well as on the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for Uncovering Corruption in the Government System of Israel.

In May 2006, Tamir was appointed Minister of Education, a position she held through 2009. In November 2006, she was also designated acting Minister of Science, Culture and Sports.

Tamir resigned her seat in the Knesset in 2010.

She is divorced and the mother of two.

Sources: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Wikipedia; Photo is copyrighted to Dan Porges and used with his permission.