17 Facts About Moshe Kahlon

On 12 January 2020, Kahlon announced that he would be retiring from politics.

Moshe Kahlon is known for championing socioeconomic issues like the eradication of poverty and income inequality.

Moshe Kahlon was born in the Givat Olga neighborhood of Hadera.

Moshe Kahlon was the fifth of seven children born to Libyan Jewish parents who had immigrated from Tripoli.

Moshe Kahlon served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1978 to 1986, in the Ordnance Corps.

Moshe Kahlon earned a BA in political science and general studies from the University of Haifa before going on to study law and gaining an LLB from the Netanya Academic College.

Moshe Kahlon became politically active in the late 1980s, when he helped Rami Dotan campaign for mayor of Haifa.

Moshe Kahlon was first elected to the Knesset in the 2003 elections, and was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.

Moshe Kahlon retained his seat again in the 2009 elections after being placed sixth on the Likud list, and was appointed Minister of Communications on 31 March.

Moshe Kahlon was credited with leading the "Cellular Revolution"; a set of policies that allowed new competitors to enter the cellular communications market in Israel, including Golan Telecom.

Moshe Kahlon announced he would be taking a break from politics, and did not run in the 2013 Knesset elections.

The party joined Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition government, with Moshe Kahlon appointed Minister of Finance on 14 May 2015.

Moshe Kahlon briefly served as Minister of Environmental Protection from 31 May 2016 to 1 August 2016 and as Minister of the Economy from 1 August 2016 until 23 January 2017.

Moshe Kahlon resigned from the Knesset on 29 January 2016 and was replaced by Akram Hasson, while retaining his ministerial portfolios under the Norwegian Law.

The party merged with Likud on 28 May 2020, with Moshe Kahlon placing fifth on the party slate for the following election.

On 27 April 2020, a source close to Moshe Kahlon told Al-Monitor that Moshe Kahlon was speeding up his retirement and was planning to resign from Netanyahu's government before a new Israeli government was formed.

Moshe Kahlon officially left politics on 17 May 2020 when Israel Katz replaced him as Minister of Finance.