Yuval Rotem

Yuval Rotem (Hebrew: יובל רותם‎‎, born March 21, 1959) is an Israeli diplomat who is currently the ambassador of the State of Israel and former Ambassador to Commonwealth of Australia.

Biography

Yuval Rotem was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Rachel and Israel Frenkel. They lived in a suburb called Giv'atayim. Rotem attended his first years of school in a local school. He moved on to a regional high school, "Yironi Tet" in Tel Aviv. Rotem is fluent in Hebrew and English, and understands Italian.

Following his service in the Israel Defense Forces, he studied Political Science and International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he received his B.A. Degree with distinction. Rotem then participated in a special workshop for outstanding students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a special semester for outstanding students in Georgetown University, Washington D.C., where he also worked as an Aide to Congressman Richard Gephardt of Missouri. Completing his M.A. degree at the Hebrew University in 1988, he received High Honors for his graduate thesis.

Yuval Rotem is married to Miri with three children.

Career

Early career

From 1978 through to 1985, Yuval Rotem served as a paramedical assistant in ECG technician, in the emergency room in Ichilov Hospital, in Tel Aviv, Israel. From 1984 until 1985, he also served as a Parliamentary Assistant in the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) in Jerusalem. Prior to joining the Diplomatic Corps, he also served as a Parliamentary Assistant to Congressman Richard Gephardt (D-MO) in Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C..

Diplomatic career

Yuval Rotem joined the diplomatic corps in 1985. In his first two years, he was part of a cadet course in the training Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his next two years, he served as a senior assistant to the Policy Advisor to the Foreign Minister. Rotem was first selected for an overseas posting in 1989, where he served as Chief Spokesman for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and also for the Consulate General of Israel in New York. Upon his return in 1993, he became a Senior Assistant in the office of the Deputy Foreign Minister, and later, a Director of the office of the Senior Deputy Director. In 1995, Mr. Rotem was chosen by then Foreign Minister Ehud Barak to be his Senior Policy Advisor for the Peace Process.

Following Israel's national elections in 1996, Rotem was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister, serving in that capacity under Foreign Minister David Levy and then under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 1999, Mr. Rotem was reappointed for a second term as Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister. In 1999, Rotem was selected for his second overseas posting, this time as Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, California. This posting included most of the Western region of the USA- Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Hawaii, Wyoming and Southern California.^[1] During his posting in Los Angeles, Rotem had a rough posting mainly due to the fact of the renewed outbreak of violence and terror against Israel. A highlight of Rotem's difficult assignment was the attack on LAX on July 4, 2002.^[2] Rotem also had a strong connection with the Jewish Community in Los Angeles and frequently visited and spoke to the community.^[3] In 2003, Rotem received the rank of an Ambassador by Benjamin Netanyahu, then the Foreign Minister. This made Rotem the youngest career Diplomat which a rank of an Ambassador in the Foreign Ministry, which still stands today.

Upon his return from Los Angeles, Rotem took his time for further education. Rotem took on two courses called "Board of Governance for High-Ranking Officials, for Government Owned Companies" and "Concepts of Investments for Private & Public Clients". These were offered by HAMIL, a special school for Directors. It took place in Ramat-Gan, Israel.

After three years, Rotem was assigned to be Ambassador of Israel to Australia and non-resident Ambassador to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. He succeeded Naftali Tamir. Rotem arrived with his family in early July 2007, and presented his credentials to Governor General Michael Jeffery. Rotem also presented his credentials to the Governor General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand, in October 2007.^[4] Since, Rotem has also presented his credentials to the President of Fiji and the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.

Since his arrival, Rotem has further promoted the relationship between Israel, and its Oceanian allies. Rotem has initiated a special motion in the Parliament of Australia celebrating Israel's 60th year of Independence.^[5] Rotem has also held numerous events with the Jewish Communities both in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand. Rotem has been part of Governor General Michael Jeffery's first state visit to Israel and participated in the opening of the Park of the Australian Soldier in Beersheba. The event was hosted by Israel President Shimon Peres.^[6] Yuval Rotem's posting to Australia is set to last 3–5 years.

See also

• Ambassadors of Israel
• Israel-New Zealand relations

External links

• Embassy of Israel, Canberra, Australia
• Australian Jewish News
• Interview with Yuval Rotem on YouTube
• Try wearing Israeli shoes by Yuval Rotem, New Zealand Herald, February 3, 2008. (Yuval Rotem's Reply to Matt McCarten calling Israel ‘a terrorist state that is able to wage crimes on an innocent people’)

References