Yohanan Plesner

Yohanan Plesner is president of the Israel Democracy Institute, since 2014. From 2007 to 2013, he was a member of Knesset, Israel’s parliament, serving on the constitution, law, and justice and the defense and foreign affairs committees. He also co-chaired the Knesset lobby for higher education and chaired its permanent delegation to the Council of Europe. In 2006, Plesner became the first secretary general of Israel’s new ruling party, Kadima. He had previously been prime minister Ariel Sharon’s head of special projects. Prior to that, Plesner worked at a management consulting firm in London and was co-founder and CEO of an international enterprise software company. He was a combatant and officer in the IDF’s Sayeret Matkal unit, in which he still serves as a major in active reserve duty.