Barak cabinet
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|---|---|
 28th Cabinet of Israel | |
 | |
| Date formed | 6 July 1999 (1999-07-06) |
| Date dissolved | 7 March 2001 (2001-03-07) |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Ezer Weizman (until 13 July 2000) Moshe Katzav (after 13 July 2000) |
| Head of government | Ehud Barak |
| Member parties | One Israel Centre Party Gesher Shas Meretz National Religious Party Yisrael BaAliyah United Torah Judaism (until September 1999) |
| Status in legislature | Coalition government |
| Opposition leader | Ariel Sharon |
| History | |
| Election | 1999 |
| Legislature term | 15th Knesset |
| Predecessor | 27th government |
| Successor | 29th government |
The twenty-eighth government of Israel was formed by Ehud BarakofOne Israel on 6 July 1999 after his victory in the May election for Prime Minister. Alongside One Israel (an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher), Barak included Shas, Meretz, Yisrael BaAliyah, the Centre Party, the National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism in his coalition. The parties formed a center-left coalition.[1] United Torah Judaism left the government in September 1999 due to a dispute over the transport of a turbine on Shabbat.[2]
Following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the government began to fall apart. Barak called a special election for Prime Minister in February 2001, which he lost to Likud leader Ariel Sharon. Sharon went on to form the twenty-ninth government on 7 March.
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| Position | Person | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Ehud Barak | One Israel | |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Yitzhak Mordechai (until 20 May 2000) | Centre Party | |
| David Levy (until 4 August 2000) | Gesher | ||
| Binyamin Ben-Eliezer | One Israel | ||
| Minister in the Prime Minister's Office | Haim Ramon | One Israel | |
| Minister of Agriculture | Haim Oron (5 August 1999 - 24 June 2000) | Meretz | |
| Ehud Barak (from 24 June 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Communications | Binyamin Ben-Eliezer | One Israel | |
| Minister of Defense | Ehud Barak | One Israel | |
| Minister of Education, Culture and Sport | Yossi Sarid (until 24 June 2000) | Meretz | |
| Ehud Barak (from 24 September 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of the Environment | Dalia Itzik | One Israel | |
| Minister of Finance | Avraham Shochat | One Israel | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | David Levy (until 4 August 2000) | One Israel | |
| Shlomo Ben Ami (from 2 November 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Health | Shlomo Benizri (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Roni Milo (from 10 August 2000) | Centre Party | ||
| Minister of Housing and Construction | Yitzhak Levy (until 12 July 2000) | National Religious Party | |
| Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (from 11 October 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Immigrant Absorption | Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) | One Israel | |
| Yuli Tamir (from 5 August 1999) | Not an MK 1 | ||
| Minister of Industry and Trade | Ran Cohen (until 24 June 2000) | Meretz | |
| Ehud Barak (from 24 September 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Natan Sharansky (until 11 July 2000) | Yisrael BaAliyah | |
| Haim Ramon (from 11 October 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Internal Security | Shlomo Ben-Ami | One Israel | |
| Minister of Justice | Yossi Beilin | One Israel | |
| Minister of Labour and Social Welfare | Eli Yishai (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Ra'anan Cohen (from 10 August 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of National Infrastructure | Eli Suissa (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Avraham Shochat (from 11 October 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Regional Co-operation | Shimon Peres | One Israel | |
| Minister of Religious Affairs | Yitzhak Cohen (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Yossi Beilin (from 11 October 2000) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Science 2 | Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) | One Israel | |
| Matan Vilnai (from 5 August 1999) | One Israel | ||
| Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs | Michael Melchior | One Israel | |
| Minister of Tourism | Ehud Barak (until 5 August 1999) | One Israel | |
| Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (from 5 August 1999) | Center Party | ||
| Minister of Transportation | Yitzhak Mordechai (until 30 May 2000) | Centre Party | |
| Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (from 11 October 2000) | Center Party | ||
| Deputy Minister of Communications | Yitzhak Vaknin (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Deputy Minister of Defense | Efraim Sneh | One Israel | |
| Deputy Minister of Education | Meshulam Nahari (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Shaul Yahalom (until 12 July 2000) | National Religious Party | ||
| Deputy Minister of Finance | Nissim Dahan (until 11 July 2000) | Shas | |
| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs | Nawaf Massalha | One Israel | |
| Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption | Marina Solodkin (until 11 July 2000) | Yisrael BaAliyah | |
| Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs | Yigal Bibi (until 12 July 2000) | National Religious Party | |
1 Although Tamir was not a Knesset member at the time, she was later elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list.
2 The name of the post was changed to Minister of Science, Culture and Sport when Vilnai took office.
The same factors apparently explain the zigzagging in IB's political tactics. In the 1999 elections, the party received four Knesset seats. It joined the right-wing National Union bloc in opposition to Ehud Barak's centre-left government.
