Minister of Economy and Industry, Israel

Eli (Eliyahu) Cohen is the Minister of Economy and Industry of the State of Israel as of January 2017, and a member of the Twentieth Knesset (Israeli Parliament) representing the ‘Kulanu’ party.

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr. Cohen chaired the Reform Committee of the parliament. As chairman of this committee, Cohen led the parliamentary work related to several major reforms inter alia the banking system in Israel, technical standards, capital market, pension, housing and real-estate. In addition to his capacity as chairman of the Reform Committee, Mr. Cohen has promoted various private bills mainly in the pension and housing fields.

Before joining politics, Mr. Cohen held various positions in major Israeli Financial Companies. Cohen headed the Economic sector of the accounting and consulting firm- BDO Ziv Haft, then he moved to the credit rating company “Maalot S&P” where he headed its Corporate division. Cohen’s last position in the private sector was Senior Vice President of the Israeli Insurance Company ILDC (The Israel Land Development Company). In the latter, Cohen was responsible for the ongoing management of the group’s companies and served as a member of the board in all the companies within the group.

Mr. Cohen, CPA, holds an MBA degree majoring in accounting and finance from the Tel Aviv University, and has a BA degree in Accounting from the Tel Aviv University and also a BA degree in Management and Economics from the Open University of Israel.

Mr. Cohen completed his military service in the Air Force and was discharged with the rank of Major.

Born in 1972, in the city of Holon, Mr. Cohen is married and has four children.