Rafael Harpaz

Rafael Harpaz

Rafael Harpaz (Hebrew: רפאל הרפז‎‎) is an Israeli diplomat. He served as Israel's ambassador to Azerbaijan from September 2012 to August 2015. Prior to that he served as head of Economic Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) dealing with Israel's economic relations with North and South America as well as Africa (2009-2012). In December 2015 ambassador Harpaz was appointed as Director of the Eurasia Department at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Personal Background

Rafael Harpaz was born in Jerusalem, Israel, on January 8, 1962. He grew up in Beit HaKerem neighborhood in west Jerusalem and was a member of the Israel Scouts. He graduated from the Boyer High School in 1980 and served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between 1980-1983. He is married with three children, and speaks Hebrew, English and French.

Academic studies

2004 Attended a management course at the Near East and South Asia Center, National Defense University, Washington D.C.

1991 Attended a Rothschild Foundation academic semester at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

1987-1988 Management course, Bank Hapoalim, Israel.

1984-1987 B.A. in international relations and supplementary studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Career

Rafael Harpaz started his career life as a cadet at the management program of Bank Hapoalim and was head of the credit department in one of its branches in Jerusalem (1988-1989).

Harpaz joined the MFA in 1989 and, following the successful completion of its cadet course, served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (1991-1993), in Bern, Switzerland (1993-1997) and in Stockholm, Sweden (1999-2003). He also served as head of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. (2005-2009), and, in addition, he was in charge of the relationship between the State of Israel and Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

At the MFA in Jerusalem he held the positions of Deputy Director, North Africa Division (1997-1999); Export Control Coordinator, Division of Strategic Affairs (2003-2005); and Director of the Economic Department dealing with Israel's economic relations with North and South America, as well as Africa (2009-2012).

Career Highlights

While serving at the Embassy of Israel in Bern, Switzerland, Harpaz was the coordinator on behalf of the Foreign Ministry of Holocaust victims' assets in Swiss banks.
January 2000, participated in the first international Holocaust conference in Stockholm.
December 2002, as charge d'affairs of the Israeli embassy in Sweden, attended the Nobel Prize ceremony in which the Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahnemann was presented the prize in economics.
June 2008, represented the Embassy of Israel the celebrations of Israel at 60 at the National Mall. This event was hosted and sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. The number of participants at the event was estimated to be between 50,000–75,000.
September 2009 appointed as the executor of the will of Mr. Alois Eduard Heuberger of Switzerland, who donated his estate to cerebral palsy institutions in Israel, as well as in other countries in the Middle East. Together with the representative of the Israeli Ministry of Justice, he instructed that the donation be divided among several institutions.
April 2013, accompanied foreign minister Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov for the first official visit to Israel by an Azerbaijani foreign minister since the establishment of relations between the countries in 1993.
May 2014, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Avigdor Liberman, visited Baku. During the meeting, Mr. Liberman stated that Israel views the relationship with Azerbaijan as one of special importance, and praised Azerbaijan as being a country that exemplifies religious and ethnic tolerance both in the past and in the present.
Signed on behalf of the Israeli government a visa waiver agreement between Israel and Azerbaijan. From December 12, 2014, any Azerbaijani or Israeli official possessing a diplomatic or service passport is able to travel without a visa.
September 2014, Israeli Minister of Defense, Mr. Moshe Ya'alon, visited Baku. This was the first official visit of an Israeli Minister of Defense to Azerbaijan.
September 2014, visited the U.S. to meet and speak with Congressmen, State Department officials, Jewish organizations, academics, and representatives of the private sector in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City regarding the special relations between Israel and Azerbaijan and about Azerbaijan as a model for tolerance. The visit was joined by the Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Elin Suleymanov, and was sponsored by the American Jewish Committee.

Rafael Harpaz

Personal Background

Academic studies

Career

Career Highlights

References

External links

See also