Abba Eban
(1915-2002) – Born in South Africa as Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban, he moved to the United Kingdom when he was young and immigrated to Israel in 1940. He was a scholar of both Arabic and Hebrew as well as an Israeli diplomat and politician. Some of his different positions included Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations. He was also Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly and President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
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Abba Eban | |
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Date of birth | 2 February 1915 |
Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa |
Year of aliyah | 1940 |
Date of death | 17 November 2002 | (aged 87)
Place of death | Tel Aviv, Israel |
Knessets | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
Faction represented in Knesset | |
1959–1965 | Mapai |
1965–1968 | Alignment |
1968–1969 | Labor Party |
1969–1988 | Alignment |
Ministerial roles | |
1959–1960 | Minister without Portfolio |
1960–1963 | Minister of Education & Culture |
1963–1966 | Deputy Prime Minister |
1966–1974 | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Education | Queens College, Cambridge |


Abba Eban (/ˈɑːbə listen); Hebrew: אבא אבן [ˈʔaba ˈʔeven]; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; later adopted Abba Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages.
In his career, he was Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations. He was also Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly and President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.