Shoval, Zalman

(formerly Finkelstein)

(1930- )

   Born in Danzig, he left with his family before World War II for Tel Aviv. He served in the Israel Defense Forces and studied economics and international affairs at the University of California at Berkeley and at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. He started his career in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in the 1950s but left to work at a family business. He later entered politics, beginning his affiliation with Rafi under David Ben-Gurion. He became a member of the Knesset from the State List slate in 1970. He later joined the Knesset on the Likud list. From 1990 to 1992, he served as Israel's ambassador to the United States, a post he resumed in July 1998, completing his term in January 2000. Since 2001, he served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Likud Party but was a critic of Sharon's Gaza unilateral disengagement plan. Currently, he serves as a senior foreign policy advisor for the Likud Party.