Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak, born on 12 February 1942, is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as the prime minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001 and was a leader of the Labor Party during certain years. Before entering politics, Barak had a long military career in the Israel Defense Forces, where he became Chief of the General Staff and is one of the most decorated soldier in Israel's history.

Barak's time as prime minister included important events such as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon in 2000 and the 2000 Camp David Summit. After leaving politics briefly, he returned to serve as Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2013. During this time, he led military operations and held various government positions. Despite several attempts to return to politics, Barak eventually retired but remained involved in business and advisory roles.

Early life and family

Ehud Barak was born on a kibbutz named Mishmar HaSharon in what was then Mandatory Palestine. He grew up with three brothers. His family faced sad times during the Holocaust. Barak later changed his family name from "Brog" to "Barak" in 1972.

During his time in the military, he met his first wife, Nava. They had three daughters and later divorced in 2003. He then married Nili Priel in 2007. In his free time, Barak enjoys reading and playing the piano. He studied physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later earned a master’s degree from Stanford University in California.

Military career

Ehud Barak joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1959 and served for 35 years. He reached the highest rank, Rav Aluf, and became the Chief of the General Staff. Barak was part of an elite team called the Sayeret Matkal and led many important missions. These included freeing hostages on Sabena Flight 571 in 1972, a secret mission in Lebanon in 1973, and the famous Entebbe raid in 1976 to rescue passengers from a hijacked plane.

Barak also helped plan other key operations and played important roles in several battles. He later became the head of the military intelligence and served as Chief of the General Staff from 1991 to 1995. During his time, he helped create peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors. Barak received many awards for his brave and skilled service.

Political career

Ehud Barak began his political career in 1995 when he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs by Yitzhak Rabin. After Rabin’s death, Shimon Peres made him Minister of Foreign Affairs. Barak was elected to the Knesset in 1996 and became leader of the Labor Party in 1997.

In 1999, Barak won the election for Prime Minister of Israel, beating Benjamin Netanyahu. During his time as Prime Minister, he worked on peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. However, his government faced challenges, including disagreements with other political groups.

Barak left politics in 2001 after losing an election to Ariel Sharon. He worked in the United States for a few years before returning to Israeli politics in 2005. He tried to lead the Labor Party again in 2007 and succeeded, becoming the Minister of Defense. He held this role until 2013, working through important events like Operation Cast Lead.

Barak tried to return to politics in 2019 but was not successful in winning a seat in the Knesset.

Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

See also: List of people named in the Epstein files

Ehud Barak knew a man named Jeffrey Epstein, who was in trouble with the law. They first met in 2003. Over the years, Barak stayed in Epstein’s homes in New York many times.

In 2015, Barak helped a new technology company called Reporty, which later changed its name to Carbyne. Some of the money Barak used to support this company came from Epstein. For Epstein’s birthday in 2016, Barak and his wife wrote him a letter. It was later found that Barak visited Epstein about 30 times between 2013 and 2017 and sometimes flew on Epstein’s private plane. During these flights, Barak’s wife and security team were with him. Barak said he did nothing wrong.

Emails showed that Epstein tried to help Barak meet important people, such as Peter Thiel, who worked with Israeli intelligence, and others connected to Vladimir Putin of Russia, like Sergei Belyakov and Viktor Vekselberg. These meetings were about discussing world affairs and business opportunities.

Financial assets

In a 2015 interview with Haaretz, Ehud Barak talked about how he built his wealth. He mentioned owning several apartments and living in a large, fancy rental home. Barak shared that he earned over $1 million each year from 2001 to 2007 by giving talks and working with special investment funds called hedge funds. He also earned money through investments in property in Israel.

During the interview, Barak was asked if he helped connect businesses with leaders in other countries. He admitted meeting leaders like the head of Kazakhstan and the president of Ghana, but he denied making money by helping companies start deals. He felt his work was fine and saw no reason why he shouldn’t use his skills to build his financial future after leaving public office. Barak also hinted that his total wealth might be close to $10–15 million.

Awards and decorations