1992–1994 Tzomet | 1994–1996 Yiud Name Gonen Segev | |
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Date of birth (1956-01-06) 6 January 1956 (age 59) 1995–1996 Minister of Energy & Infrastructure Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Knessets Israeli legislative election, 1992 | ||
Place of birth Kiryat Motzkin, Israel | ||
Former Israeli minister charged with spying for Iran
Gonen Segev (Hebrew: גונן שגב, born 6 January 1956 in Kiryat Motzkin) is a former Israeli government minister, member of Knesset, and pediatrician. He was convicted for attempting to smuggle drugs, forgery, and electronic commerce fraud.
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Segev graduated with an M.D. from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He served in the IDF, where he made it to the rank of captain. He later worked as a private doctor and as a farmer in Tel Adashim.
Political career
In the early 1990s Segev was active in the Tzomet party founded by Rafael Eitan. In 1992 he was elected to the 13th Kenesset, after Tzomet had won eight seats. As the Labor Party was the largest party in these elections it formed the government and the right-wing Tzomet party remained in the opposition. Segev served as an opposition MK and a member of the Knesset's Finance Committee.
On 7 February 1994 Tzomet MKs Segev, Esther Salmovitz, and Alex Goldfarb split from their party to form the Yiud faction. On 9 January 1995 Segev became Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, after Yiud joined Yitzhak Rabin's government. Segev held the same minister post again from 22 November 1995 to 18 June 1996 in the government that Shimon Peres formed shortly after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. His vote was vital in passing the Oslo Accords in the Knesset.
Business and crime
After his political career Segev focused on a business career. In April 2004 Segev was arrested for attempting to smuggle thousands of ecstasy tablets from Amsterdam to Israel that he claimed he thought were M&M's. His diplomatic passport was illegally extended with pencil. He was convicted in a pleading deal for forgery and attempted drug smuggling and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Also he had pulled money from an automated teller machine in Hong Kong, while claiming that his card was stolen. His image however was filmed at the machine. In August 2006 an Israeli court rejected his appeal for shortening his prison term. In March 2007 his medical license was indefinitely revoked.