Cabinet of Israel explained

Government Name:Government of Israel
Nativename:Hebrew: ממשלת ישראל •Arabic: مجلس وزراء إسرائيل
Border:central
Date:1949
Appointed:The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of the State after consultation with parties in the Knesset. Other ministers are directly appointed by the Prime Minister.
Ministries:28

The Cabinet of Israel (Hebrew: ממשלת ישראל|translit=Memshelet Yisra'el;) exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the government must be approved by a vote of confidence in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament). Under Israeli law, the prime minister may dismiss members of the government but must do so in writing, and new appointees must be approved by the Knesset. Most ministers lead ministries, though some are ministers without portfolio. Most ministers are members of the Knesset, though only the Prime Minister and the "designated acting prime minister" are required to be Knesset members. Some ministers are also called deputy and vice-prime ministers. Unlike the designated acting prime minister, these roles have no statutory meanings. The government operates in accordance with the Basic Law. It meets on Sundays weekly in Jerusalem. There may be additional meetings if circumstances require it.

Unlike most cabinets in parliamentary regimes, the Israeli cabinet–officially described in the Basic Laws as the "Government"–is both the de jure and de facto executive authority in Israel. In most parliamentary regimes, the head of state is nominal chief executive, while bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. In Israel, the Basic Laws explicitly vest executive power in the cabinet/Government, not the President.

Use of terms

The body discussed in this article is referred to in Israeli official documents as the Government of Israel. This is in accordance with the normal translation of its Hebrew name, (Hebrew: ממשלה, Memshala). In Israel, the term cabinet (Hebrew: קבינט) is generally used for the State-Security Cabinet (Hebrew: הקבינט המדיני-ביטחוני HaKabinet haMedini-Bitachoni), a smaller forum of cabinet members that decides on defense and foreign policy issues and may consist of up to half of the (full) cabinet members. Another term in use is the Kitchen Cabinet (Hebrew: המטבחון, HaMitbahon, lit. "The kitchenette"), a collection of senior officials, or unofficial advisers to the Security Cabinet of Israel.

Provisional and first governments of Israel

See main article: Provisional government of Israel. The first government was the provisional government of Israel (HaMemshala HaZmanit) which governed from shortly before independence until the formation of the first formal government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year. It was formed as the People's Administration (Minhelet HaAm) on 12 April 1948, in preparation for independence just over a month later. All its thirteen members were taken from Moetzet HaAm, the temporary legislative body set up at the same time.

Current government

The thirty-seventh government of Israel (Hebrew: ממשלת ישראל השלושים ושבע) is the current government of Israel, which was sworn in on 29 December 2022.

List of cabinets

GovernmentDates in officePrime Minister
Provisional14 May 1948 – 10 March 1949David Ben-Gurion
1st10 March 1949 – 30 October 1950David Ben-Gurion
2nd1 November 1950 – 8 October 1951David Ben-Gurion
3rd8 October 1951 – 24 December 1952David Ben-Gurion
4th24 December 1952 – 26 January 1954David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett
5th26 January 1954 – 29 June 1955Moshe Sharett
6th29 June 1955 – 3 November 1955Moshe Sharett
7th3 November 1955 – 7 January 1958David Ben-Gurion
8th7 January 1958 – 17 December 1959David Ben-Gurion
9th17 December 1959 – 2 November 1961David Ben-Gurion
10th2 November 1961 – 26 June 1963David Ben-Gurion
11th26 June 1963 – 22 December 1964Levi Eshkol
12th22 December 1964 – 12 January 1966Levi Eshkol
13th12 January 1966 – 17 March 1969Levi Eshkol, Yigal Allon
14th17 March 1969 – 15 December 1969Golda Meir
15th15 December 1969 – 10 March 1974Golda Meir
16th10 March 1974 – 3 June 1974Golda Meir
17th3 June 1974 – 20 June 1977Yitzhak Rabin
18th20 June 1977 – 5 August 1981Menachem Begin
19th5 August 1981 – 28 August 1983Menachem Begin
20th10 October 1983 – 13 September 1984Yitzhak Shamir
21st13 September 1984 – 20 October 1986Shimon Peres
22nd20 October 1986 – 22 December 1988Yitzhak Shamir
23rd22 December 1988 – 11 June 1990Yitzhak Shamir
24th11 June 1990 – 13 July 1992Yitzhak Shamir
25th13 July 1992 – 22 November 1995Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres
26th22 November 1995 – 18 June 1996Shimon Peres
27th18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999Benjamin Netanyahu
28th6 July 1999 – 7 March 2001Ehud Barak
29th7 March 2001 – 28 February 2003Ariel Sharon
30th28 February 2003 – 4 May 2006Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert
31st4 May 2006 – 31 March 2009Ehud Olmert
32nd31 March 2009 – 18 March 2013Benjamin Netanyahu
33rd18 March 2013 – 14 May 2015Benjamin Netanyahu
34th14 May 2015 – 17 May 2020Benjamin Netanyahu
35th17 May 2020 – 13 June 2021Benjamin Netanyahu
36th13 June 2021 – 29 December 2022Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid
37th29 December 2022 – Benjamin Netanyahu

See also

External links