Abba Eban
Date of birth	2 February 1915(1915-02-02)
Place of birth	Cape Town, South Africa
Year of Aliyah	1940
Date of death	17 November 2002 (aged 87)
Knesset(s)	4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th
Party	Alignment
Former parties	Mapai
Gov't roles (current in bold)	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Education & Culture Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister without Portfolio

Abba Eban (center) with Israeli PM David Ben-Gurion and U.S. President Harry Truman

Abba Eban (Hebrew: אבא אבן‎, born Aubrey Solomon Meir on 2 February 1915, died 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician. is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: Spes Bona (Latin for Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Coordinates: , Country Province Municipality City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality Founded 1652 Government [1]  - Type City council  - Mayor Helen Zille  - City manager Achmat Ebrahim Area [2]  - Total 2,454. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Elections for the fourth Knesset were held on 3 November, 1959. ... The Elections for the fifth Knesset were held on 15 August, 1961. ... The Elections for the sixth Knesset were held on 1 November, 1965. ... The Elections for the seventh Knesset were held on 28 October, 1969. ... The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. ... The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May, 1977. ... Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June, 1981. ... Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July, 1984. ... The Alignment (Hebrew: המערך, HaMaarakh), originally called the Labour Alignment (Hebrew: המערך העבודה, HaMaarakh HaAvoda) was the dominant left-wing political party in Israel from its founding in 1965 until its transformation into the Labour Party in 1992. ... Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... In the State of Israel, there are currently three positions of deputy executive leaders: Vice Premier, Vice Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister. ... Education Ministers of Israel, 1949 to present. ... Foreign Affair Ministers of Israel, 1948-present Moshe Sharett 1948-1956 Golda Meir 1956-1966 Abba Eban 1966-1974 Yigal Allon 1974-1977 Moshe Dayan 1977-1979 Menachem Begin 1979-1980 Yitzhak Shamir 1980-1986 Shimon Peres 1986-1988 Moshe Arens 1988-1990 David Levy 1990-1992 Shimon Peres 1992... A Minister without Portfolio is a government minister with no specific responsibilities. ... Image File history File links Truman-bengurion. ... Image File history File links Truman-bengurion. ... Ben Gurion redirects here. ... For the victim of Mt. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ...

Political career

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Eban moved to England at an early age. He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School, Southwark before studying Classics and Oriental languages at Queens' College, Cambridge. As a child, he recalls being sent to his grandfather's house every weekend to study the Hebrew langauge and Biblical literature.^[1] After graduating with a "Triple-Starred First", he researched Arabic and Hebrew as a Fellow of Pembroke College from 1938–1939. At the outbreak of World War II, Eban went to work for Chaim Weizmann at the World Zionist Organization in London from December 1939. A few months later he joined the British Army as an intelligence officer, where he rose to the rank of major. He served as a liaison officer for the Allies to the Jewish Yishuv of Palestine. Drawing on his linguistic skills, in 1947 he translated from the original Arabic, Maze of Justice: Diary of a Country Prosecutor, a 1937 novel by Tawfiq al-Hakim. Nickname: Motto: Spes Bona (Latin for Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Coordinates: , Country Province Municipality City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality Founded 1652 Government [1]  - Type City council  - Mayor Helen Zille  - City manager Achmat Ebrahim Area [2]  - Total 2,454. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... St Olaves and St Saviours Grammar School for Boys (also known as St Olaves, St Olaves Grammar School, or simply Olaves) is a selective boys secondary school in Orpington, England. ... For other places with the same name, see Southwark (disambiguation). ... Full name The Queens College of Saint Margaret and Saint Bernard in the University of Cambridge Motto Floreat Domus May this House Flourish Named after - Previous names - Established 1448 Sister College(s) Pembroke College President Lord Eatwell Location Silver Street Undergraduates 490 Postgraduates 270 Homepage Boatclub The Gatehouse, as... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Full name Pembroke College Motto - Named after Countess of Pembroke, Mary de St Pol Previous names Marie Valence Hall (1347), Pembroke Hall (?), Pembroke College (1856) Established 1347 Sister College(s) Queens College Master Sir Richard Dearlove Location Trumpington Street Undergraduates ~420 Postgraduates ~240 Homepage Boatclub Pembroke College is a... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Chaim Azriel Weizmann (Hebrew: חיים עזריאל ויצמן) November 27, 1874 – November 9, 1952) was a chemist, statesman, President of the World Zionist Organization, first President of Israel (elected February 1, 1949, served 1949 - 1952) and founder of a research institute in Israel that eventually became the Weizmann Institute of Science. ... The World Zionist Organization, or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization, or ZO, on September 3, 1897, at the First Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Yishuv is a Hebrew word meaning settlement. ... A 2003 satellite image of the region. ... Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) was an Egyptian thinker, author, novelist and dramatist who played a pivotal role in the creation of modern Arabic literature from the 1930s onwards. ...

Eban moved back to London briefly to work in the Jewish Agency's Information Department, from where he was posted to New York, where the General Assembly of the United Nations was considering the "Palestine Question". In 1947, he was appointed as a liaison officer to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, where he was successful in attaining approval for the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab segments—Resolution 181. At this stage, he changed his name to the Hebrew word Abba (however it was seldom used informally), meaning "Father", as he could foresee himself as the father of the nation of Israel. Eban spent a decade at the United Nations, and also served as his country's ambassador to the United States at the same time. He was renowned for his oratorical skills. In the words of Henry Kissinger: UN redirects here. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... On 29 November 1947 the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, a plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the British Mandate of Palestine, was approved by the United Nations General Assembly. ... For other uses, see Ambassador (disambiguation). ... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ...

"I have never encountered anyone who matched his command of the English language. Sentences poured forth in mellifluous constructions complicated enough to test the listener’s intelligence and simultaneously leave him transfixed by the speaker’s virtuosity."

His polished presentation, grasp of history, and powerful speeches gave him authority in a United Nations that was generally skeptical of Israel or even hostile to it. He was fluent in ten languages.^[2] In 1952, Eban was elected Vice President of the UN General Assembly.^[3]

Eban left the United States in 1959 and returned to Israel, where he was elected to the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) as a member of Mapai. He served under David Ben-Gurion as Minister of Education and Culture from 1960 to 1963, then as deputy to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol until 1966. Through this entire period (1959–1966), he also served as president of the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Type Unicameral Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Deputy Speaker Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Members 120 Political groups Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud Last elections March 28, 2006 Meeting place Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel Web site www. ... This article is about the legislative institution. ... Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... Ben Gurion redirects here. ... â–¶(?) (Hebrew לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל ) (Born Levi Skolnick) (Hebrew לֵוִי שְׁקוֹלְנִיק) (October 25, 1895 - February 26, 1969), was the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death of a heart attack in 1969. ... The Koffler accelerator, one of the best-known buildings on campus. ... Rehobot redirects here. ...

From 1966 to 1974, Eban served as Israel's foreign minister, defending the country's reputation after the Six-Day War. Nonetheless, he was a strong supporter of giving away the territories occupied in the war in exchange for peace. He played an important part in the shaping of UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 1967 (as well as UN Security Council Resolution 338 in 1973). Eban was at times criticized for not voicing his opinions in Israel's internal debate. However, he was generally known to be on the "dovish" side of Israeli politics and was increasingly outspoken after leaving the cabinet. In 1977 and 1981 it was widely understood that Shimon Peres intended to name Eban Foreign Minister, had the Labor Party won those elections. Eban was offered the chance to serve as Minister without Portfolio in the 1984 national unity government, but chose to serve instead as Chair of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee from 1984 to 1988. Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Foreign Affair Ministers of Israel, 1948-present Moshe Sharett 1948-1956 Golda Meir 1956-1966 Abba Eban 1966-1974 Yigal Allon 1974-1977 Moshe Dayan 1977-1979 Menachem Begin 1979-1980 Yitzhak Shamir 1980-1986 Shimon Peres 1986-1988 Moshe Arens 1988-1990 David Levy 1990-1992 Shimon Peres 1992... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ... United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242) was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 22, 1967 in the aftermath of the Six Day War. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... The three-line UN Security Council Resolution 338, adopted on October 22, 1973, called for the ceasefire in the Yom Kippur War in article 1 and for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 242 in article 2. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A Minister without Portfolio is a government minister with no specific responsibilities. ... NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer meets the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee (June 16, 2005) The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Hebrew: ) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense areas, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the approval of their...

His comment that "Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity" (ie, for peace) made after the Geneva peace talks in December 1973, is often quoted.^[4]

Abba Eban (first on left) escorting the king of Nepal in a 1958 visit at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Shortly after the visit, Abba Eban became president of the Institute.

The king of Nepal is known as the Raja; his Queen is known as the Rani. ... The Koffler accelerator, one of the best-known buildings on campus. ... Rehobot redirects here. ...

Later life

In 1988, after three decades in the Knesset, he lost his seat over internal splits in the Labour Party. He devoted the rest of his life to writing and teaching, including serving as a visiting academic at Princeton University, Columbia University and The George Washington University. He also narrated television documentaries including Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (PBS, 1984), for which he was host, Israel, A Nation Is Born (1992), and On the Brink of Peace (PBS, 1997). Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... The Israeli Labor Party (‎, Mifleget HaAvoda HaYisraelit), generally known in Israel as Avoda (‎) is a center-left political party in Israel. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... The George Washington University (GW) is a private, coeducational university located in Washington, D.C., United States. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

In 2001, Eban received the Israel Prize, his country's highest honor. He died in 2002 and was buried in Kfar Shmaryahu, north of Tel Aviv. This article is about the year. ... The Israel Prize is the most prestigious award handed out by the State of Israel. ... Kfar Shmaryahu is a local council in Israel, found in the Tel Aviv District. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ...

Abba Eban's brother-in-law is the late Chaim Herzog, the sixth president of Israel. Herzog's son Isaac Herzog is a minister in Israel's Knesset. Eban's cousin, Oliver Sacks, is a neurologist and author and his son, Eli Eban, is a renowned clarinetist who teaches at Indiana University. Eli has two children, Yael and Omri Eban. His nephew, Jonathan Lynn is a filmmaker and script writer known for satirical BBC shows Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Lynn recounts that the plot of an episode of Yes, Prime Minister, which involved the British Prime Minister bypassing his own Arab-centric bureaucracy by taking the Israeli ambassador's advice, was based on an actual incident narrated to him by Eban. Chaim Herzog (‎, born Vivian Herzog, September 17, 1918 – April 17, 1997) served as the sixth President of Israel (1983–1993), following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). ... Isaac (Buzi) Herzog (Hebrew: יצחק הרצוג, born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. ... Type Unicameral Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Deputy Speaker Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Members 120 Political groups Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud Last elections March 28, 2006 Meeting place Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel Web site www. ... Oliver Sacks in 2005. ... Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus university system in the state of Indiana. ... Jonathan Lynn (born April 3, 1943), is a British actor and comedy writer. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC television and radio between 1980 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. ... Yes, (prime) minister: Sir Humphrey Appleby, James Jim Hacker, Bernard Woolley Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister are British sitcoms about the struggle between (Dr) James Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), the government minister of the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs (and later as Prime Minister) and... Yes, (prime) minister: Sir Humphrey Appleby, James Jim Hacker, Bernard Woolley Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister are British sitcoms about the struggle between (Dr) James Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), the government minister of the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs (and later as Prime Minister) and... The State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, transliteration: ; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ اِسْرَائِيل, transliteration: ) is a country in the Middle East on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Bibliography

• (1957) Voice of Israel. OCLC 332941. 
• (1959) The tide of nationalism. OCLC 371099.  (Herbert Samuel lecture)
• (1968) My people: the story of the Jews. ISBN 0-394-72759-2. 
• (1972) My country; the story of modern Israel. ISBN 0-394-46314-5. 
• (1977) Abba Eban: an autobiography. ISBN 0-394-49302-8. 
• (1983) The new diplomacy : international affairs in the modern age. ISBN 0-394-50283-3. 
• (1984) Heritage : civilization and the Jews. ISBN 0-671-44103-5. 
• (1992) Personal witness : Israel through my eyes. ISBN 0-399-13589-8. 
• (1998) Diplomacy for a new century. ISBN 0-300-07287-2. 

Footnotes

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sources

• The Commentator; "In Memoriam"; Volume 67, Issue 5; November 25, 2002
• Biography at The Department for Jewish Zionist Education

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Abba Eban

• Abba Eban Centre for Israeli Diplomacy (Part of the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace)
• Abba Eban Knesset website (English)
• A Collection of Abba Eban's speeches (and others)
• Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Biography and Selected Speeches)

v • d • e Education Ministers of Israel Zalman Shazar (1949-50) • David Remez (1950-51) • David Ben-Gurion (1951) • Ben-Zion Dinur (1951-55) • Zalman Aran (1955-60) • Abba Eban (1960-63) • Zalman Aran (1963-69) • Yigal Allon (1969-74) • Aharon Yadlin (1974-77) • Zevulun Hammer (1977-84) • Yitzhak Navon (1984-90) • Zevulun Hammer (1990-92) • Shulamit Aloni (1992-93) • Yitzhak Rabin (1993) • Amnon Rubinstein (1993-96) • Zevulun Hammer (1996-98) • Yitzhak Levy (1998-99) • Yossi Sarid (1999-2000) • Ehud Barak (2000-01) • Limor Livnat (2001-06) • Meir Sheetrit (2006) • Yuli Tamir (2006-date)

v • d • e Foreign Affairs Ministers of Israel Moshe Sharett (1948-56) · Golda Meir (1956-66) · Abba Eban (1966-74) · Yigal Allon (1974-77) · Moshe Dayan (1977-79) · Yitzhak Shamir (1980-86) · Shimon Peres (1986-88) · Moshe Arens (1988-90) · David Levy (1990-92) · Shimon Peres (1992-95) · Ehud Barak (1995-96) · David Levy (1996-98) · Ariel Sharon (1998-99) · David Levy (1999-2000) · Shlomo Ben-Ami (2000-01) · Shimon Peres (2001-02) · Benjamin Netanyahu (2002-03) · Silvan Shalom (2003-06) · Tzipi Livni (2006-date)