Uri Lubrani

Uriel Lubrani (Hebrew: אורי לוברני; October 7, 1926 – March 5, 2018) was an Israeli diplomat, military official, and national security advisor whose six-decade career influenced Israel's foreign policy and defense in East Africa and the Middle East. Born in Haifa in Palestine, in the 1940s he was a member of the Haganah, the Palmach, and the IDF. In 1964, he joined the diplomatic corps of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. He was appointed Israeli ambassador to Uganda and non-resident ambassador to Burundi and Rwanda, serving until 1967. From 1967 to 1971, he was ambassador to Ethiopia. From 1973 to 1978, he was ambassador to the Imperial State of Iran From 1983 to 2000, Lubrani was the coordinator of the government strategy and the activities of Israeli forces in Lebanon. Concurrently, in 1990, Lubrani was designated chief diplomatic coordinator in Ethiopia, where he negotiated and coordinated Operation Solomon, the 1991 airlift that evacuated over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel within 36 hours. Lubrani negotiated prisoner exchanges with Hezbollah and other regional actors holding Western and Israeli hostages. and in 1992 entered into peace negotiations with Lebanese counter-parties. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, he continued to serve the Israeli government until 2015 on Lebanese and Iranian affairs, and on regional security.