(1953- )
From 1984 to 1988, he was media adviser and bureau chief for Shimon Peres in the latter's capacities as prime minister and foreign minister. In November 1988, he was named consul general in New York, a position he held until May 1993, when he was appointed director general of the Foreign Ministry, again under Peres. He was involved in the final, crucial stages of the negotiations in Oslo that culminated with the September 1993 Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Declaration of Principles, and he participated in subsequent negotiations with the PLO concerning the Cairo Agreement of May 1994. Savir's experiences in negotiating the Declaration of Principles were described in his book, The Process: 1,100 Days That Changed the Middle East. Leaving government service in 1996, he became the founding executive director of the Peres Institute for Peace, a Tel Aviv-based institute established by Peres to encourage economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. Savir was elected to the 15th Knesset on the Center Party list in May 1999. He did not seek reelection to the 16th Knesset in 2003. Savir continues to head the Peres Institute for Peace and remains a keen observer of Israel's foreign affairs and diplomacy.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..