Tamir Pardo. Photo: Israel GPO.

Tamir Pardo

Director of Israel’s Mossad

The head of the Mossad, Israel’s renowned intelligence service, since 2011, Tamir Pardo has dedicated his life to serving and defending the Jewish state. After a glittering career in the military, during which Pardo served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, participating in the legendary 1976 military operation to liberate Jewish hostages held by Palestinian terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, Pardo joined the Mossad in 1980. Though no Israeli official is immune from the often bitter political battles that periodically envelop the military and political establishments, Pardo has no doubts about his primary goal. As he said in an interview last year, “The Mossad is first and foremost obligated to preventing Iran from achieving military nuclear capabilities, that is our greatest mission.”