Uri Savir, former director general of the Foreign Ministry who was also a member of the Knesset, one of the architects of the Oslo Accords and one of the founders of the Peres Center for Peace, passed away yesterday (Friday) at the age of 69.
Savir, born in 1953 in Jerusalem, was the son of Leo Savir, one of the first Israeli Foreign Service.
He was a senior and close adviser to former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres for many years, and worked to advance Israel's diplomatic relations with Morocco and Egypt.
In 1988, he was appointed Israeli consul in New York, and five years later was appointed director general of the State Department.
Uri Savir (right) next to Shimon Peres (archive), Photo: Hanania Herman / GPO
Savir headed the Israeli delegation for talks that led to the Oslo Accords.
In 1999, Savir was elected to the 15th Knesset on behalf of the Center Party and in early 2001 retired from political life.
Savir was the first director general of the Peres Center for Peace and worked to promote peace through cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.
Savir is survived by his wife Dr. Aliza Savir, daughter Mia and four grandchildren.
The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation reported: "Uri, the center's first founder and CEO, has been striving all his life for reconciliation among the peoples of the region.
As a brilliant, smart and talented diplomat, he played a significant and important role alongside Shimon Peres in the effort to make peace in our region.
The initiatives he developed and led to encourage Israeli-Arab cooperation in a wide variety of fields, reflected the immense creativity he was blessed with and his absolute dedication to the vision of peace.
"The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation embraces with great love his wife Dr. Aliza Savir, his daughter Mia, his four grandchildren and the entire Savir family on such a sad day that our dear Uri left us."
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