Gila Gamliel

Biography

Born in Gedera to a family of Yemenite and Libyan-Jewish origin, Gamliel studied at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she was awarded a BA in Middle Eastern history and philosophy and an MA in philosophy. During her time as a student, she was elected chairwoman of the university's student union. She was controversially re-elected to the post after her boyfriend Sagiv Assulin had removed members who opposed Gamliel's candidacy from the association's steering council. She also served as the first woman chair of the National Students' Association, and later obtained a Bachelor of Laws at the Ono Academic College and a Master of Laws at the Bar-Ilan University.

For the 1999 elections, she was placed 25th on the Likud list, but missed out on a place in the Knesset when the party won only 19 seats. In 2003, she surprisingly won 11th place on the Likud list for the elections that year, ahead of several cabinet ministers. She became a Knesset member when the party won 38 seats, standing down as head of the Ben-Gurion University student's union, where she was replaced by Assulin. Following her election to the Knesset, police decided to open an investigation into the suspected transfer of student funds into a private company. She was also accused of blackmailing a fellow student council member in order to retain the chairmanship of the students' association of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at the time. Gamliel denied both accusations. In November 2003, the fraud police decided to stop the investigations against her because of lack of enough evidence.

In June 2003, she and three other Likud MKs were banned from the Likud faction for three months after voting against government economic policy. During her first term in the Knesset she chaired the committee on the Status of Women, and in March 2005 was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

Gamliel missed out on a place on the Likud list for the 2006 elections, and lost her seat. Prior to the 2009 elections, she won nineteenth place on the party's list, and returned to the Knesset, as Likud won 27 seats. On 1 April 2009, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Gamliel as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office in his new government, with the portfolio of the Advancement of Young People, Students, and Women.

In the 2013 elections, she was re-elected to the Knesset, but lost her Deputy Ministerial post. She was also re-elected in the 2015 elections, after which she was appointed Minister for Senior Citizens in the new government (changed in Minister for Social Equality in August 2015).

Personal life

Whilst at Ben-Gurion University, Gamliel dated Sagiv Assulin, with whom she worked closely together in the students' association, with the couple becoming known as "Sagilon". Assulin was also on the Likud list for the 2009 elections, but in 35th place, and he failed to win a seat. Gamliel is now married, with two daughters, and lives in Tel Aviv.

She has five elder brothers. Her father's family, the Gamliels, are a big family of Yemenite Jews in Gila's birthplace Gedera. Her mother is a Libyan Jew, originating from Tripoli. Other family members of Gila are politicians as well. Her brother Chaim is/was chairman of Likud in Gedera, her uncle Yoel Gamliel is mayor of Gedera, and another relative, Aryeh Gamliel, is a former member of the Knesset for Shas.