Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Friday appointed Yael Andorn to be the next Finance Ministry director-general. Andorn, who was previously deputy director of the ministry's budget department, will be the first woman ever to fill the position, replacing current director-general Doron Cohen.
After 11 years at the Finance Ministry, Andorn, 42, served as CEO of the Amitim Senior Pension Fund from 2005 to 2011. Back in the government's service, she will be charged with managing the daily operations of the most complex government ministry during a time of severe budget cuts and tax hikes. She will also be tasked with getting the 2013-2014 state budget passed in the Cabinet and the Knesset.
Andorn, who has two daughters, is pregnant with a third child, due to be born in May.
Promotion of women was part of Lapid's election campaign platform. His party, Yesh Atid, boasts eight women out of a total of 19 MKs, the most of all parties.
Lapid recently wrote about the plight of middle-class Israelis, offering up the example of a fictional Mrs. Riki Cohen as the embodiment of the overburdened and under-appreciated masses.
