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Avigdor Liberman was born June 5 1958 in Moldova, and emigrated to Israel in 1978. In Israel he served in the Israel Defense Force, and received a BA in International Relations and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

From 1983 to 1988 Liberman helped found of the Zionist Forum for Soviet Jewry, and was a member of the Board of the Jerusalem Economic Corporation and the Secretary of the Jerusalem branch of the Histadrut Ovdim Le'umit ("National Workers' Union"). From 1993 to 1996 he served as Director-General of the Likud party, and from 1996 to 1997 was Director-General of the Prime Minister's office.

In 1999, he founded and led the Yisrael Beiteinu political party, and was the editor of the newspaper Yoman Yisraeli. Liberman was elected to the Knesset in 1999, and served as Chairman of the Israel-Moldova Parliamentary Friendship League.

In March 2001, Liberman was appointed as Israel's Minister of National Infrastructures, but resigned the post in March 2002. In February 2003 he was appointed Minister of Transportation. Liberman stongly opposed Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004, and instead in late May of 2004 proposed a plan in which the populations and territories of Jews and Arabs, including Israeli Arabs, would be "separated". According to the plan, only those Israeli Arabs who felt "a connection with the State of Israel" and were "completely loyal to it" would be allowed to remain. On May 30 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon condemned Liberman's statements, stating "We regard as part of the State of Israel"; on June 4, 2004 Sharon dismissed Liberman from the cabinet.

Liberman is married, with three children.

• 1958 births
• Living people
• Israeli politicians