Born in Bucharest Romania, Colette Avital immigrated to Israel at the age of 10. After her army service she joined the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs while completing a BA degree in Political Science and English Literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Colette Avital subsequently held a variety of diplomatic posts in Israel and abroad. In Israel, among others: Head of Training and of the Ehud Avriel School of Diplomacy, Deputy Director General for Media Information and Culture and Deputy Director General for European Affairs.
Among her postings abroad: Montreal (Chancellor), Brussels (First Secretary) Boston (Consul and then Consul General) Paris ( Minister-Counselor), Lisbon ( Ambassador) and New York ( Consul General)
In February 1999 she turned to politics and won a seat on the Labor Party list in the 15th Knesset. She served in the 15th, 16th and 17th Knesset as head of a number of Committees and as Deputy Speaker of the House. In 2007 she was the first woman to run for the office of President of Israel.
After retiring from politics she served as Director General of the Educational Center of the Berl Katzelson Foundation.
Education: Colette Avital holds an M.A. degree in English literature from the University of Montreal and an MPA degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University as well as Honorary Doctoral Degrees from the College of New Rochelle and Welsley College.
Awards : She was awarded the Offcier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French Government, the Cavaliere del'Ordine della Republica ( Italy), the National Order for Merit with the rank of Officer by the Romanian Government and the Gran Cruz do Infante Dom Henrique (Portugal)
At present Colette Avital serves as the Chairperson of the Center Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel; as Secretary General of the Claims Conference against Germany; Secretary General of the World Jewish Restitution Organization ( WJRO) and the Chairperson of the Caritatea Foundation in Romania. She is also the Chairperson of the International Harp Competition, the International Festival of Choirs ( Zimryia) and serves on the boards of the Gesher Theatre, the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies and the Ramat Gan College.