Harel Locker

Locker was born and raised in Tel Aviv. He is a ninth-generation Israeli, on his maternal side. His mother, Rivkah, was born in the Old City of Jerusalem. His father, Martin, was a Holocaust survivor from the Transnistria camp, and was a member of Beitar and the Irgun; he immigrated to Israel on board the Irgun cargo ship Altalena, which was loaded with weapons, and from which he swam ashore as the ship burned while under attack. He has two brothers: Yohanan Locker, former deputy Air Force Commander and former Military Secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.{{cite web|title=After 4-month hiatus, PMO gets new D-G|url=http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/After-4-month-hiatus-PMO-gets-new-D-G|work=Jerusalem Post|accessdate=4 November 2013|date=2011-12-19}} and heart surgeon and professor Chaim Locker.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-16 |title=Mayo doctor's family history runs through the Holocaust |url=https://www.inforum.com/community/mayo-doctors-family-history-runs-through-the-holocaust |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=InForum |language=en}}

Locker served in the Israeli Defense Force as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps and as a combat intelligence officer in Lebanon and Samaria. He was released with the rank of captain. He earned an LL.B. from Tel Aviv University’s Buchman Faculty of Law and a B.A. degree in accounting from the Tel Aviv University Recanati Business School. He later received his LL.M. (with distinction) in taxation from Georgetown University, Washington DC.

Locker married{{cn|date=June 2025}} fellow Georgetown University alumnus Shiri Milo, an attorney,{{Cite web |date=2001 |title=Georgetown University Law Center LL.M. Students Photobook |url=https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/1047401/facebook_2000_2001_llm.pd|access-date=2025-06-12 |page=9|website=Georgetown |language=en}} the couple have three children.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

He began his legal career as an intern at the law firm of Yoram Danziger and Avigdor Klagsbald. He became a member of the Israel Bar Association in 1995. He was a partner at the law firm of Shekel & Co. until 2000 and, between 2001 and 2004, he worked in the Wall Street law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. After returning to Israel, he established Shohat, Locker & Co., where he was a managing partner. In 2007, the firm merged into S. Friedman and Co., one of the oldest law firms in Israel; Locker became a senior partner and member of the management team.{{Cite web |last=Benari |first=Elad |title=New Director-General for PMO Named |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/150517 |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=Israel National News |language=en}}

In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Harel Locker Director General of the Prime Minister's Office.{{Cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/1.1594327|title=אושר מינוי הראל לוקר למנכ"ל משרד ראש הממשלה|newspaper=הארץ}}{{cite news|title=Harel Locker appointed as new director of PM's Office|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4158641,00.html|work=Y Net News|date=7 December 2011|accessdate=4 November 2013}} The Director General of the Prime Minister's Office directs policy and staff work carried out at the Prime Minister's Office on a variety of economic, social and civilian matters. The Director General coordinates the staff work of the Government on these issues on behalf of the Prime Minister, and leads and is a central partner in large-scale national projects on the Government's and Prime Minister's agendas.{{Cite web |title=About Prime Minister's Office |url=https://www.gov.il/en/pages/about_pm_office |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=Israel government services and information |language=en}}

Harel Locker's activities and achievements as Director General of the Prime Minister's Office (as of August 2013):{{cn|date=June 2019}}

• Leading the public service reform
• Leading the relocation project of IDF bases to the Negev and the ensuing economic development plan for the Negev
• Formulating the State Budget on behalf of the Prime Minister, together with Minister of Finance
• Managing and leading the forum of directors general of government ministries
• Coordinating the Government's effort to remove obstacles in the area of housing
• Devised "Locker Deal", which prevented the closing of Channel 10
• Integrating the plan for natural gas usage in Israel
• Encouraging foreign investors to conduct business activity in Israel
• Enhancing economic ties with The US, China and Latin American countries
• Coordinating the efforts to privatize governmental companies
• Leading the reform to enhance government ministries' performance
• Reducing governmental bureaucracy and the bureaucratic burden
• Launching The "Digital Israel" initiative
• Promoting the Israeli efforts in the cyber protection arena

The Director General of the Prime Minister's Office heads the Financial and Social Headquarters (which was established following the conclusions of the Kucik Report of April 2011, regarding the Prime Minister's Office staffer). The Financial and Social Headquarters, including all its divisions and departments, is responsible for all economic and social matters in the Prime Minister's Office. The departments operating under the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office are: the Department for Governance and Social Affairs, the Department for Internal Affairs and Development and the Department for Economy and Infrastructure.http://www.pmo.gov.il {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101195113/http://www.pmo.gov.il/ |date=2014-01-01 }}

Locker resigned from the PMO in 2015;{{Cite web |date=2014-11-19 |title=Locker quits as head of Prime Minister's Office |url=https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-locker-quits-as-head-of-prime-ministers-office-1000987559 |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=en.globes.co.il |language=en}} with a farewell ceremony led by Netanyahu held that October.{{Cite web |date=2014-11-19 |title=Prime Minister's Office Takes Leave of Outgoing Director General Harel Locker |url=https://www.gov.il/en/pages/eventloker100515 |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=Israel government services and information |language=en}}

Locker was chairman of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) board of directors, from 2017 to 2021.{{Cite web |last=Tamm |first=Heike |date=2021-01-11 |title=IAI Board Chairman Harel Locker plans to step down |url=https://avitrader.com/2021/01/11/iai-board-chairman-harel-locker-plans-to-step-down/ |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=AviTrader Aviation News |language=en-GB}}

He was appointed chairman of the board of Paz Oil Company in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=Gantz said to weigh tapping Amir Peretz as IAI board chair |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/gantz-said-weighing-tapping-amir-peretz-as-iai-board-chair/ |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Israeli civil servants

Category:Tel Aviv University alumni

Category:Lawyers from Tel Aviv

Category:Israeli lawyers

Category:People associated with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)