Amit, Meir

(formerly Slutzky)

(1925- )

   Born in Tiberias, he joined the Hagana in 1936 and was a member of Kibbutz Alonim between 1939 and 1952. He served in Israel's War of Independence (1948—1-9) and was appointed commander of the Golani Brigade in 1950 and of the Southern Command in 1955. He later served as commander of the Northern Command and studied business administration in the United States. He was head of Israel's foreign intelligence service, Mossad, from 1963 to 1968 and was managing director of Koor Industries until 1977. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Movement for Change in 1976 and served in the Knesset. He served as minister of transport in the 1977 government led by Menachem Begin but in 1978 left the government and joined Shinui. In 1980, he joined the Israel Labor Party. Since retirement Amit has remained an active commentator on strategic affairs and currently serves as chairman of Israel's Center for Special Studies.