Lt. Gen. Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (1995-1998)

Born in Israel 1944, he joined the IDF in 1962 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. During the Six Day War he served as a company commander and as deputy commander of a paratrooper battalion and fought with his brigade on the Egyptian front. He participated in battles to penetrate the Egyptian compound in Rafah and to take over the Gaza Strip, he arrived with his unit up to the edge of the Suez Canal. After the war he commanded the Duchifat unit, fought with it in the Battle of Karameh in March 1968, and was awarded the medal of courage for his performance in battle. Later on, he held a number of positions in the Paratroopers Brigade and fought in the various fronts during the War of Attrition. In 1971 he was appointed battalion commander in the Paratroopers Brigade. He took part in Operation Spring of Youth (April 1973) in which the IDF took over the terrorist headquarters in Beirut; he stood at the head of the force that attacked the headquarters of the Democratic Front in the Lebanese capital. For his performance in the operation he received the Medal of Courage. During the Yom Kippur War, he fought in the Egyptian front, first in the area of the Gulf of Suez in pursuit of Egyptian commando units, and later in battles to contain the Egyptian army, during which he fought in operation Abirey-Halev with the brigade in the bloody battle at the Chinese Farm. In 1974 he was appointed to the Operations Branch Officer of the Central Command. In 1976 he was promoted to Colonel and appointed Head of the Infantry and Paratroopers Combat Theory Department. In 1977 he served as commander of the Paratroopers Brigade. Under his command the brigade took part in many operations against the PLO's terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon, including Operation Litani in March 1978. In 1979 he was promoted to brigadier general and re-trained for the Armored forces. During the First Lebanon War, he commanded a reserve armored division in the Central Command. In 1982 he was appointed commander of Division 162 and remained with it during its stay in Lebanese territory. In 1983 he commanded the Central Command, until he was appointed the Head the Intelligence Branch of the General Staff (1986). During his term, he faced two major challenges: dealing with the intifada in the territories and the first Gulf War. In 1991 he was appointed deputy chief of staff.

In 1995 he was appointed head of the IDF's 15th General Staff, his term was characterized by fighting Palestinian suicide terrorism alongside the implementation of the Oslo Accords in the West Bank. The most prominent operation in this during his term was Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996. In 1998 he finished his service.

After his retirement from the IDF he served as Minister of Tourism and Minister of Transportation in the Israeli government. He died on December 19, 2012.