PERSON: Nir Barkat

9th Mayor

On november 11th, 2008, nir barkat was elected the 9th mayor of jerusalem, the
eternal capital of the jewish people, and inaugurated into office on december 2nd 2008 at age 49. mayor barkat has inspired thousands of jerusalemites with his vision to turn israels poorest city into one rich in culture, youth, education, lasting economic development, and tourism, as well as his message of respect and pluralism for all residents of jerusalem.

members of city council have formed a wide coalition to support mayor barkat and his vision ‐ a testament to mayor barkats leadership and uniting vision. he has joined together the left and the right, the secular and religious, in order to move jerusalem forward, allowing him to spend the entirety of his time working on the needs of jerusalem, rather than the politics. support for mayor barkats vision continues to spread throughout jerusalem, israel, and communities
throughout the world.

mayor barkat has retained the education portfolio for himself, highlighting his
belief in education reform as an integral aspect to attracting young families and retaining jerusalems brightest youth. he has already begun to develop plans for large scale public‐private‐partnerships in the areas of education, in addition to culture and tourism, setting a goal of ten million annual tourists by 2020.

immediately prior to his election as mayor, nir barkat served as the opposition leader of the city council for 5 years learning the details of jerusalems difficult challenges and awesome opportunities. based on his deep understanding of the issues that face jerusalem, mayor barkat set out on a path of active civic engagement and reform beyond the city council to address education, negative migration of jerusalems young adults, and the need for lasting economic development.

he founded snuneet, a non‐profit organization and the largest educational website in hebrew and start up jerusalem, which encourages the creation of jobs in jerusalem through economic growth and marketing guidance. he was also a founding member of new spirit, an organization that works to change the demographic map of jerusalem by focusing on deepening the connections that students have to jerusalem so that they will remain to build their homes and raise their families in the city. new spirit connects students to the city both emotionally and physically, by involving groups of students in areas of jerusalem most in need. mayor barkats philanthropic leadership combined with his business background when he helped found the israel venture network, a venture capital network that invests in social initiatives throughout jerusalem.
through his civic engagement, mayor barkat actively tackled the very challenges he learned as opposition leader on city council that threatened the future of jerusalem.

his early successes as mayor are rooted in his business methods and entrepreneurial approach to city hall. in 1988, mayor barkat co‐founded brm technologies, a pioneering software house and later venture capital firm that developed and marketed ground‐breaking anti‐virus software now standard on personal computers throughout the world. his leadership and business acumen brought him to the position of global chairman of one of brms largest venture projects.

mayor barkat received the rank of major during his six years of service in the israel defense forces, during which he was wounded. as a paratrooper, he led soldiers inside enemy territory during the first lebanon war. he is married to beverly, with whom he has three daughters. mayors barkats parents moved to jerusalem almost fifty years ago in the hopes of raising their children in a blossoming city, full of opportunities for young people to raise a family. every day, mayor barkat works to continue this dream for his family and the future generations of jerusalem.