Yehiel Lasri - Biography

Dr Yehiel Lasri (born 21 August 1957) is an Israeli physician and politician who currently serves as mayor of Ashdod. He previously served as a member of the Knesset for the Centre Party, Lev and Likud.

Biography

Lasri was born in Morocco and made aliyah to Israel in 1963 when his family moved to Ashdod. He completed medical studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 1982. During the military service he filled a variety of medical positions in the Israeli Navy until becoming the surgeon-general of the navy with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

As an internal medicine specialist, he served as deputy director of the department of internal medicine at the Kaplan Hospital. He specialized in treating AIDS as served as the Director of the hospital's Aids Institute. Away from his job, he was amongst the founders of the Israeli Andalusia Orchestra and a director on its board.

He was elected to Ashdod city council on the New Ashdod list. For the 1999 Knesset elections he was placed ninth on the Centre Party list. Although the party won only six seats, Lasri entered the Knesset on 28 March 2001 as a replacement for Yitzhak Mordechai. On 6 November 2002 he and Roni Milo left the party and established the Lev faction, which immediately merged into Likud.

After being placed 53rd on Likud's list, Lasri lost his seat in the 2003 elections, and returned to Ashdod city council, where he was elected mayor in 2008.

External links