SHAUL GOLDSTEIN

Director-General, Nature and Parks Authority

Shaul Goldstein was born in in 1959; his family moved to Beer Sheva in 1961 where he grew up. He attended Ben Gurion University under the Military Academic Program and earned a B.Sc. degree in Engineering. He then served in the Israel Defense Force as a Developing Engineer in the Israeli Air Force. As the commander of an engineering unit, he led a team that developed special tools for the Air Force as well as repairing and refurbishing damaged aircraft.

In 1987, Shaul Goldstein married Ruti and one year later they moved to the community of Neve Daniel in the region. They have seven children.

Shaul Goldstein left the Air Force with the rank of Major after ten years to pursue a career in the private sector. He began a small construction company that provided services throughout Israel. During this time, he discovered many obstacles that a small business must overcome, and became motivated to pursue changes in government that would help improve business and eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks.

Shaul Goldstein was elected Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council in 1999 and held the position for 13 years. He led relentless efforts making Gush Etzion a region of thriving communities and prosperous industries and reaffirming its strategic importance.

Shaul Goldstein was nominated by the Minister of Environmental Protection to take charge of the Israel Nature and National Parks Authority (INPA) in December 2011, and has been its Director-General (CEO) ever since. The INPA is the sole government agency with jurisdiction over all protected areas in the country (approximately 25% of the country’s area), all its wildlife, and manages many sites of cultural and heritage importance.

Shaul has become very involved in Israeli domestic and international politics and has represented Israel and the INPA in many international events.

As Director-General of the INPA he is engaged in many challenges between conservation and development, and leads the INPA’s programs with emphasis on improving cooperation with all stakeholders: government agencies, academia, environmental NGOs, and local communities, for the benefit of the nature and heritage of Israel.