Nira Shpak Explained

Birth Date:20 July 1966
Birth Place:Rehovot, Israel
Office1:Faction represented in the Knesset
Suboffice1:Yesh Atid
Subterm1:2021–2022

Nira Shpak (Hebrew: נִירָה שְׁפָּק, born 20 July 1966)[1] is an Israeli soldier, civil servant and politician. She was a member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid from 2021 to 2022.

Biography

A member of the Kfar Aza kibbutz, Shpak was a career soldier. She was the first woman to reach the rank of brigade commander and commander of an operational sector,[2] and was the first woman to lead the training section of the Israeli Ground Forces.[3] After being discharged with the rank of brigadier general, she worked at the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Home Front Defense.[3]

Entering politics, she ran for head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council in the 2018 local elections.[4] Prior to the 2021 Knesset elections she was placed seventeenth on the Yesh Atid list,[5] and was elected to the Knesset as the party won seventeen seats. In May 2022 she was a recipient of the Knights of the Quality of Government award by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.[6] However, she did not contest the November 2022 elections, choosing to return to local politics.[7]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.mako.co.il/news-israel-elections/2021-knesset_24/Article-89d5563dd4fa771026.htm בחירות 2021: אלה חברי הכנסת מטעם יש עתיד בכנסת ה-24
  2. https://www.forumdvorah.org.il/ourteam Our Team
  3. https://www.timesofisrael.com/reform-rabbi-kahanist-agitator-firebrand-novelist-welcome-to-the-24th-knesset/ Reform rabbi, Kahanist agitator, firebrand writer: The new Knesset’s 16 rookies
  4. http://www.fes.org.il/events/women-influencers-in-the-south-fourth-meeting-zoom Women Influencers in the South – Fourth Meeting – Zoom
  5. https://bechirot24.bechirot.gov.il/election/Candidates/Pages/OneListCandidates.aspx?LPF=Search&WebId=6adadc15-e476-480b-9746-04490aedeb0f&ListID=ba72a662-765c-45af-9d48-fb68080956af&ItemID=183&FieldID=ListNickname_GxS_Text יש עתיד בראשות יאיר לפיד
  6. Web site: 2021 Knights of the Quality of Government were proclaimed. Movement for Quality Government in Israel. May 2022.
  7. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-716844 Yesh Atid MK Nira Shpak to leave Knesset, run in local elections