Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office

The Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office heads the administrative work and oversees the policies carried out in the Prime Minister’s Office on a variety of economic, social and civilian topics.  The Director General consolidates the administrative work of the government on these subjects on behalf of the Prime Minister, and he leads and is a central partner in large-scale national projects on the government’s and Prime Minister’s agenda.
 

Fields of Responsibility

The Prime Minister’s Office operates in the fields of policy, security, society and the economy. The current policy environment in the office includes three central policy planning bodies:

The Socioeconomic Division Headed by the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office

A.    Targets set by the Prime Minister’s Office in the policy arena 
B.    Central bodies in the field of socioeconomic policy operating in the Prime Minister’s Office
C.    Additional areas of responsibility

A. Targets set by the Prime Minister’s Office in the policy arena

The Prime Minister’s Office, as the central body for the socioeconomic field, consolidates policy planning and administrative work at a national level, leads necessary reforms in the Civil Service and advances projects with national significance for defined periods of time.

B. Central bodies in the field of socio-economic policy operating in the Prime Minister’s Office:

The Socioeconomic Division in the Prime Minister’s Office

The Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office heads the Socioeconomic Division (which was established in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee to Examine the Organizational Structure of the Prime Minister's Office, the Kuchik Report of April 2012). The Socioeconomic Division is charged with overseeing socioeconomic issues in the Prime Minister’s Office. The departments working under the direction of the Director General are: the Department for Governance and Social Affairs, the Division for Home Affairs, Planning and Development, and the Department of the Economy and Infrastructures.

The Department for Governance and Social Affairs

The Department for Governance and Social Affairs, headed by Deputy Director General Ehud Praver, leads the activities of the Prime Minister’s Office in the field of governance, including shaping the planning policy for the work of government ministries and advancing structural reforms in the government’s work and structure. In addition, the Department is charged with strengthening the interface between citizens and the government, including establishing dialogue between the government and the third and business sectors; it leads the activities of the Prime Minister’s Office in social fields, including services provided in the areas of education, immigration and absorption, health, welfare, culture and sports. Furthermore, the Department deals with issues related to the Ministry for Social Equality and the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women.

The Division for Home Affairs, Planning and Development

The Division for Home Affairs, Planning and Development leads the activities of the Prime Minister’s Office in fields related to domestic policy, including local authorities, planning policies, land development and allocation, migration, agriculture and rural development, the environment, personal security and emergency preparedness, and religious services. The Division specializes in formulating and managing development plans and implementing cross-governmental, multi-system national plans. As such, the Division develops and manages plans for regional, settlement and sectoral development. In addition, the Division leads the activities of the Prime Minister’s Office in the area of Diaspora affairs and hasbara.

The Department of the Economy and Infrastructures

The Department of the Economy and Infrastructures, headed by Deputy Director General Amir Barkan, provides economic advice to the Director General on issues under the jurisdiction of the Socioeconomic Division, and leads the Division’s activities in the area of the economy. This includes macro-policies and the State Budget, taxation and state income, competitiveness and the capital market, as well as topics related to salaries and under the purview of the Accountant General. The Department represents the Prime Minister’s Office in advancing and following up on the fields of transportation, infrastructure, energy, the water economy, the real estate market (including aspects related to the implementation of the Planning and Construction Law, 1969, on these matters), tourism, employment, industry and trade, communications, and all budgetary aspects related to the defense system.

The National Economic Council, headed by Prof. Avi Simhon

The National Economic Council serves as an advisory body to the government on socioeconomic matters, an oversight body for the government and the Knesset in socioeconomic matters and a body for directing administrative work between the various ministries and other bodies dealing with these matters.

The Council’s goal is to lead planning and decision-making processes in economic matters, based on professional analyses of existing trends, current data and methodical, long-term thinking.

The Council’s duties include: Recognizing trends and formulating initiatives for policy moves, assisting in decision-making processes, integrating knowledge and latitudinal dialogue in order to create integrative policies, providing opinions to the government regarding proposed resolutions and discussions on socioeconomic topics, formulating opinions regarding the proposed State Budget submitted by the Ministry of Finance, including budgetary targets, budgetary frameworks, the manner in which government priorities are given expression, tax policies, etc.

The Legal Department, headed by Shlomit Barnea-Farago, Adv.

The Legal Department serves as the central professional authority with regard to legal and legislative aspects of planning activities, and supports the processes of the various departments as needed.  In addition, the Department guides processes that require changing legislation and regulations that result from policy plans that have been completed and approved.

The Department’s goal is to provide authoritative, professional legal counsel, answers and support with regard to all legal and legislative aspects in the field of policy, while introducing any necessary changes.

The Department’s duties include:  Providing legal counsel and support to the Prime Minister and Director General when needed, preparing opinions and reviews on various matters on the agenda, providing counsel to the various departments, guiding the implementation of legislative aspects of plans and providing legal defense as necessary.

*The Department’s goal and the duties listed here are in a policy planning context, and do not necessarily include tasks that the Department carries out in other contexts.

C. Additional areas of responsibility

In addition to the aforementioned, the Deputy Director General is responsible, on behalf of the Director General and the Prime Minister, for the activities of the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women, the State Archives, the Government Names Committee, the Israel Anti-Drug Authority, the Government Publications Bureau, the Government Press Office and other bodies.