Danny Danon

Danny Danon
דני דנון‎
Danny Danon
Ministerial roles
2015Minister of Science, Technology & Space
Faction represented in the Knesset
2009–2015Likud
2022–2024Likud
19th Permanent Representative to the UN
Incumbent
Assumed office
2022
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu
Preceded byGilad Erdan
17th Permanent Representative to the UN
In office
2015–2020
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu
Preceded byRon Prosor
Succeeded byGilad Erdan
Personal details
Born (1971-05-08) 8 May 1971 (age 53)
Ramat Gan, Israel
Alma materFlorida International University (BA)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (MA)

Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971[1]) is an Israeli politician and diplomat. A member of the Likud party, he served in the Knesset from 2009 to 2015 and from 2022 to 2024. From 2015 to 2020, Danon served as Israel's 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and was reappointed to the role in 2024.[2] [3] The former leader of the world Betar organization, Danon was elected Chairman of the World Likud.[4] Considered a 'right-wing thorn in Netanyahu's side,"[5] Danon challenged Benjamin Netanyahu for the party's leadership in 2007 and 2014.[6]

First elected to the Knesset in the 2009 election, Danon served as Deputy Minister of Defense, which coincided with the outbreak of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. He was ultimately fired by Netanyahu for criticizing the Prime Minister's willingness to accept a proposed ceasefire.[7] In 2015, Danon was appointed to serve as Minister of Science, Technology and Space.[8]

Danon became Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 2015, and made history in 2016 by being the first Israeli elected chair of the UN's Legal Committee.[9] In his capacity, Danon supported the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel in 2017, and criticized supporters of UN General Assembly Resolution ES-10/19 as "puppets pulled by the strings of the Palestinian puppet masters."[10][11] Danon left the position in 2020, and was replaced by Gilad Erdan.[12]

Following his tenure at the UN, Danon re-entered Israeli politics, and was elected to the Knesset in the 2022 election. In a 2021 interview, Danon indicated that he would be interested in pursuing leadership of the Likud party in the future.[13]

  1. ^ "Knesset Member Danny Danon". www.knesset.gov.il. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ "Gov. unanimously approves appointment of Danny Danon as UN Ambassador". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  3. ^ i24, "Danny DAnon returns to UN as Israel's ambassador"', 29 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  4. ^ Betar chair trounces MK Steinitz in World Likud poll Haaretz, 19 June 2006
  5. ^ McGreal, Chris (2015-10-01). "Israel's new UN ambassador is a rightwing thorn in Netanyahu's side". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Gedalyah, Reback (2015-05-17). "Jokers skewer space minister Danon". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  9. ^ "In first for Israel, Danon elected chairman of UN Legal Committee". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  10. ^ "UN Overwhelmingly Rejects US Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital". Voice of America. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  11. ^ "Danon: Supporters of UN resolution are 'puppets pulled by Palestinian masters'". The Times of Israel. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  12. ^ "Cabinet approves Gilad Erdan as ambassador to the UN and the US". The Times of Israel. 2020-07-05. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).