Michal Herzog

First Lady of the State of Israel

Mrs. Herzog is a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law. She is a member of the Israeli Bar Association and led her own law firm specializing in white-collar criminal law and commercial law.

In the years prior to becoming First Lady of the State of Israel, Mrs. Herzog headed philanthropic foundations focusing on social fields such as health, education, and civil society in Israel. She served on the board of numerous public organizations active in at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and social mobility.

Mrs. Herzog was appointed to public committees recognizing outstanding social entrepreneurship and volunteer activities in Israel, co-chaired the Coalition for Ultra-Orthodox Employment, and served on the Governmental Committee regulating Surrogacy.

In her youth, Michal Herzog spent several years in Brazil and Canada due to her father’s diplomatic career. She returned to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, where she headed a department in the Intelligence Corps. She met Isaac Herzog during their military service, and the two married in 1985.

Since assuming her role as First Lady in July 2021, Mrs. Herzog has been active in the field of mental health, particularly in the wake of the COVID pandemic and its ramifications on children and youth. Mrs. Herzog has also taken on the use of employment and sports as tools for social mobility.

In the wake of the October 7th attack on Israel, Mrs. Herzog has become one of the leading voices in exposing the systematic sexual crimes perpetrated by Hamas. Mrs. Herzog believes that the use of sexual violence as a tool of war should be unequivocally condemned, and she will continue to lead this critical campaign until every voice is heard and every doubt as to the Hamas crimes against humanity is eliminated.

Mrs. Herzog's aim is to employ her professional experience and skill as a lawyer and trained mediator to build bridges between all sectors of Israeli society, and between a traumatic past and a hopeful future.