Yoel Hasson

Biography

Born in Tel Aviv and raised in Rishon Letzion, Israel. He attended boarding school in Herzliya. Before joining the IDF, he volunteered with adolescent children for one year. He served in the IDF as a staff sergant for the Shlomo Ben Yosef Kernel, Battalion 905 of the Nahal Brigade.

Hasson later studied at IDC Herzliya and received his BA in Government and Public Administration. In April 2012, he married Tess, a news editor on the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) News Channel. They have a 3-year-old son named Ido.

Political career

Hasson became involved in Israeli politics from a young age. In 1997, at the age of 24, Hasson began working as a parliamentary consultant for MK Uzi Landau, when Landau served as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. From 1998 to 2001, Hasson acted as national head of Betar. After the Likud won the 2001 elections and Ariel Sharon became Prime Minister, Hasson was appointed head of the Public Affairs Division in the Prime Ministers Office.

In 2001, Hasson also became chairman of the Council of Israeli Youth Movements, a position he held until 2003. He also served as a member of the Authority for the Advancement of Women and the Israel Women's Network.

In 2005, PM Sharon made a political shift, left the Likud and established the centrist Kadima party. Hasson and other figures from the liberal wing of the Likud and from the Labor party, such as Tzipi Livni and Shimon Peres, also joined Kadima under Sharon’s leadership. In the 2006 elections, Hasson was elected 29th on Kadima’s primary list, which won 29 seats for the Knesset. In June 2006, Hasson was nominated as the President of the 35th World Zionist Congress.

Knesset Term 17

During Hasson’s first term he served as chairman of the coalition, Kadima’s Parliamentary Group Chairman, and the party’s whip. He also served as chairman of the parliamentary Lobby for the Advancement of Young People in Israel and established the parliamentary Lobby for the Protection of Animals’ rights.

Knesset Term 18

Prior to the elections for the 18th Knesset, Hasson was elected 8th place in the Kadima primary list, then led by Tzipi Livni, holding 28 seats and being the largest opposition party to the Likud. He served as chairman of the State Control Committee until 2011. During his lead, the committee dealt with the Carmel fire disaster, a deadly forest fire in 2010, and initiated a broad investigation on this issue by the State Comptroller. During that year he also founded the parliamentary lobby for the two-state solution. Shortly before the 2013 elections, Hasson and Tzipi Livni left Kadima and established the Hatnuah Party. Towards the Israeli legislative election, Yoel Hasson was placed seventh on the list of candidates for the newly established Hatnuah Party. However, the party won six seats, so he did not enter into the next Knesset term.

Knesset Term 20

Prior to the legislative elections on March 2015, Hasson was involved in the process of establishing the "Zionist Union", which is a political union between the Labor Party led by Isaac Herzog and Hatnuah Party led by Tzipi Livni. In January 2015 he joined the list of "Zionist Union" and was placed 16th. After the elections, which won the "Zionist Union" 24 seats, he was appointed deputy speaker of the Knesset. He serves as a member of the House Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. Along with MK Yoav Kish, Hasson established the parliamentary lobby for Israeli start-ups, which aims to improve the regulation on the Israeli start-up market and to give increased government support for young Israeli entrepreneurs. In addition, he holds the Presidency of the Canada-Israel inter-parliamentary friendship group along with MK Anat Berko.