Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations

Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations
Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations
	Incumbent; Danny Danon;
Style	Diplomatic mission
Inaugural holder	Abba Eban
Formation	1949
Website	www.israel-un.org

The permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations is the de facto Israel ambassador to the United Nations, with the rank and status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

The permanent mission of Israel to the United Nations is led by Ambassador Danny Danon, who replaced Ron Prosor in 2015, as permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations and former director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Danon presented his credentials to UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson on October 19, 2015.

On May 11, 2020, Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Gilad Erdan, minister of internal security, would be Israel’s new ambassador to the UN and in an unusual move, would also become the ambassador to the United States after the 2020 elections.^[1]^[2] The deputy permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations is Ambassador Noa Furman.

Israel's permanent mission represents the State of Israel, its citizens and the Jewish people on the global stage of the United Nations. For over 65 years, Israel's delegation has worked to promote international peace, prosperity, and security through UN institutions. Today, Israeli diplomats share the unique expertise and cutting-edge innovations of the Start-up Nation in the halls of the UN to help address pressing global challenges – from public health to environmental issues to sustainable development. In order to successfully carry out its mandate, the permanent mission of Israel to the United Nations has nearly 30 staff members, including diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and civil servants. They prepare and negotiate resolutions and texts for adoption by the various UN organs.

Staff members of the permanent mission of Israel to the United Nations also organize visits by the Israeli authorities to the UN headquarters, notably during the general debate that opens the annual session of the UN General Assembly, which traditionally takes place in September.

Office holders

#	Name^[3]	Years served	U.N. Secretary(ies)-General	Prime Minister(s) of Israel
1	Abba Eban	1949–1959	Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld	David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett
2	Michael Comay	1960–1967	U Thant	David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol
3	Gideon Rafael	1967–1968	U Thant	Levi Eshkol
4	Yosef Tekoah	1968–1975	U Thant, Kurt Waldheim	Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin
5	Chaim Herzog	1975–1978	Kurt Waldheim	Yitzhak Rabin, Menahem Begin
6	Yehuda Blum	1978–1984	Kurt Waldheim, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar	Menahem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir
7	Benjamin Netanyahu	1984–1988	Javier Pérez de Cuéllar	Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir
8	Yohanan Bein	1988–1990	Javier Pérez de Cuéllar	Yitzhak Shamir
9	Yoram Aridor	1990–1992	Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Boutros Boutros-Ghali	Yitzhak Shamir
10	Gad Yaacobi	1992–1996	Boutros Boutros-Ghali	Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres
11	Dore Gold	1996–1999	Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan	Benjamin Netanyahu
12	Yehuda Lancry	1999–2002	Kofi Annan	Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon
13	Dan Gillerman	2002–2008	Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon	Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert
14	Gabriela Shalev	2008–2010	Ban Ki-moon	Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu
15	Meron Reuben	2010–2011	Ban Ki-moon	Benjamin Netanyahu
16	Ron Prosor	2011–2015	Ban Ki-moon	Benjamin Netanyahu
17	Danny Danon	2015–2020	Ban Ki-moon, António Guterres	Benjamin Netanyahu
18	Gilad Erdan	2020–2024	António Guterres	Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid
19	Danny Danon	2024–	António Guterres	Benjamin Netanyahu