Ovadia Eli

Ovadia Eli (Hebrew: עובדיה עלי; born 22 May 1945) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud from 1984 until 1996, Deputy Minister of Defense between 1991 and 1992, and mayor of Afula from 1978 until 1991.

He studied at the Lifshitz College of Education and received a BA from the University of Haifa, after which he worked as a teacher.

He was re-elected again in 1992 and remained a Deputy Speaker until losing his seat in the 1996 elections (despite finishing 18th in the Likud primaries, he was assigned an unrealistic place on the party list).

After leaving the Knesset, he was appointed CEO of Oil Refineries Ltd by Minister of National Infrastructure, Ariel Sharon.

In April 2005 he was appointed CEO of Israel Military Industries by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, but resigned in June 2006.