Ofir Akunis
| Ofir Akunis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of birth | 28 May 1973 |
| Place of birth | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Knessets | 18, 19, 20 |
| Faction represented in Knesset | |
| 2009– | Likud |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2015 | Minister without Portfolio |
| 2015– | Minister of Science, Technology and Space |
Ofir Akunis (Hebrew: אופיר אקוניס, born 28 May 1973) is a right-wing Israeli politician. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Likud party and Minister of Science, Technology and Space.
Akunis was born in Tel Aviv in 1973 and educated at Herzliya Hebrew High School between 1987 and 1991. He served as youth correspondent for the weekly "Ma'ariv LaNoar" magazine. During his national service he served as a military correspondent for the Chief Education Officer of the Education and Youth Corps. After his army service he served as music editor of the radio program "Youth Club" on Reshet Gimmel, and on other programs. He completed his bachelor's degree in political science and international relations.
In January 1996 he joined the Likud party and began working in the information department at Metzudat Ze'ev in Tel Aviv. In June 1996, when Binyamin Netanyahu became Prime Minister after winning the elections, Ofir Akunis served as Deputy Media Advisor to the Prime Minister. He subsequently became spokesman for the Likud party. In 2003 he won the Menachem Begin Award for his thesis "Morals and Realism in Israeli Politics". He later worked as a spokesman for the Minister of Justice, and in 2004 was appointed Media Advisor for Netanyahu in the Ministry of Finance. He continued to serve as his advisor until 2008 before being appointed as Deputy Director of Communications and Information for the Likud.
Prior to the 2009 elections, Akunis participated in the primaries for the Likud and reached the 28th place. He submitted a petition to the election committee of the Likud together with other candidates. On 12 December 2008 the petition was accepted, and subsequently was promoted to the 26th place on the list, which is reserved for the Tel Aviv district. Post factum, it turned out that if the petition was not accepted, he would not have been elected to the Knesset, as the Likud won 27 mandates in the elections. Akunis was subsequently moved up to twenty-sixth place, and entered the Knesset as Likud won 27 seats.
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