Speaker of the Knesset

The speaker of the Knesset (Template:Langx; Template:Langx) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel when the President is incapacitated. The current speaker is Amir Ohana, who was elected on 29 December 2022.

Position

The Speaker and their deputies are elected by members of the Knesset. Until a Speaker is elected, the oldest Knesset member who is not the prime minister, the prime minister-elect, a minister or deputy minister, serves as acting speaker.

The Speaker is responsible for conducting the affairs of the Knesset and representing the Knesset. They are also charged with preserving the dignity of the Knesset, the decorum of its sittings and observance of Knesset rules of procedure.

The Speaker is assisted by a number of Deputy Speakers. Together, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers constitute the Presidium of the Knesset. The Presidium sets the Knesset agenda.

Ahdut HaAvoda's Nahum Nir and Blue & White's Benny Gantz are the only Speakers not to have come from the ruling party, though in two cases (Avraham Burg and Reuven Rivlin) the party of the speaker (One Israel and Likud respectively) lost power during their term.

The Speaker is expected to act in a non-partisan nature, but may occasionally take part in debates, and is allowed to vote.

List of Knesset speakers

A total of twenty people have served as Speaker of the Knesset, two of whom, Reuven Rivlin and Yariv Levin, have served two non-consecutive terms.

Speaker						Knesset
No.	Portrait	Name (Lifespan)	Term of office		Political party
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 1	File:Yosef Sprinzak.jpg	Yosef Sprinzak (1885–1959)	14 February 1949	28 January 1959	Mapai	1, 2, 3
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 2	File:Nahum Nir-Refalx.jpg	Nahum Nir (1884–1968)	2 March 1959	30 November 1959	Ahdut HaAvoda	3
3	File:Kadish Luz.jpg	Kadish Luz (1895–1972)	30 November 1959	17 November 1969	Mapai, Alignment	4, 5, 6
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 4	File:Reuven Barkat 1966-01-12.jpg	Reuven Barkat (1906–1972)	17 November 1969	5 April 1972	Alignment	7
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 5	File:Yisrael Yeshayahu Sharabi 1951.jpg	Yisrael Yeshayahu Sharabi (1908–1979)	9 May 1972	13 June 1977	Alignment	7, 8
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 6	File:Yitzhak Shamir (1980).jpg	Yitzhak Shamir (1915–2012)	13 June 1977	10 March 1980	Likud	9
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 7	File:Isaac Berman (00370449).jpg	Yitzhak Berman (1913–2013)	12 March 1980	20 July 1981	Likud	9
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 8	File:Menachem Savidor.jpg	Menachem Savidor (1917–1988)	20 July 1981	13 August 1984	Likud	10
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 9	File:Shlomo Hillel 1970.jpg	Shlomo Hillel (1923–2021)	11 September 1984	20 November 1988	Alignment	11
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" |10	File:Dov Shilansky (00320353).jpg	Dov Shilansky (1924–2010)	21 November 1988	13 July 1992	Likud	12
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 11	File:Szewach Weiss.JPG	Shevah Weiss (1935–2023)	13 July 1992	24 June 1996	Labor	13
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 12	File:Dan Tichon (IH001409548017).jpg	Dan Tichon (1937–2024)	24 June 1996	7 June 1999	Likud	14
13	File:Abraham Burg (00330268).jpg	Avraham Burg (born 1955)	6 July 1999	17 February 2003	One Israel, Labor	15
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 14	File:Reuven Rivlin as the president of Israel (cropped).jpg	Reuven Rivlin (born 1939)	19 February 2003	4 May 2006	Likud	16
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 15	File:Dalya Itzik 1.png	Dalia Itzik (born 1952)	4 May 2006	30 March 2009	Kadima	17
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | (14)	File:Reuven Rivlin as the president of Israel (cropped).jpg	Reuven Rivlin (born 1939)	30 March 2009	5 February 2013	Likud	18
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 16	File:יולי אדלשטיין - תמונת פרופיל (cropped1).jpg	Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (born 1958)	18 March 2013	25 March 2020	Likud	19, 20, 21, 22
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 17	File:Benny Gantz 2019 (cropped).jpg	Benny Gantz (born 1959)	26 March 2020	17 May 2020	Blue & White	23
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 18	File:Yariv Levin 1 (cropped).jpg	Yariv Levin (born 1969)	17 May 2020	13 June 2021	Likud	23
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 19	File:Mickey Levy (E32J026233).jpg	Mickey Levy (born 1951)	13 June 2021	13 December 2022	Yesh Atid	24
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | (18)	File:Yariv Levin 1 (cropped).jpg	Yariv Levin (born 1969)	13 December 2022	29 December 2022	Likud	25
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 20	File:Amir Ohana - Official (cropped).jpg	Amir Ohana (born 1976)	29 December 2022	Incumbent	Likud	25

External links

• Speaker of the Knesset and the list of all Knesset Speakers since the first Knesset Knesset website
• Israeli ministries, etc – Rulers.org