At its weekly meeting on Sunday, the cabinet approved the appointment of Ron Dermer as Minister for Economic Affairs at the Israel Embassy in Washington. Dermer will replace Boaz Raday in the post on March 1, 2005.
For the past two years, Dermer has been an advisor to companies and economic concerns, including Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), Cellcom, and Mifal Hapayis - Israel National Lottery. Before that, from 1995 until 1999, he was chief strategist for the Yisrael B’Aliya party, and a political commentator at the “Jerusalem Post” English-language daily in 2000-2003. For a short time, he was a economic and political strategic advisor to Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister for Diaspora and Jerusalem Affairs Natan Sharansky.
In 2001, Ron Dermer successfully managed his brother David’s election campaign for mayor of Miami Beach. He was also successful as a media strategist for the Republican Party in the 1994 Congressional elections, when the Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
Ron Dermer, 33, has published many hundreds of articles, commentaries, and studies, and appeared on innumerable television talk programs, including CNN, BBC, Fox, and NBC. He has a master’s degree in political philosophy and economics from Oxford University, and a BA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied management and economics.
Dermer, who was born and grew up in Miami Beach, lives now in Jerusalem with his wife, Rhoda, and their children. David Dermer, his brother, is now finishing his second term as mayor of Miami Beach, following in the footsteps of their father, who also served two terms as mayor of Miami Beach.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 4, 2005