b'Yohanan Plesner, Prof. Gerhard Casper, Amir Elstein, Bernie Marcus, Sec. George ShultzIn 2005, after several years in private-industry executive positions, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Plesner Head of Special Projects in the Prime Ministers Office. In 2006, he was appointed Executive Director of the then governing Kadima Party. In 2007, Plesner was elected to the Knesset, where he served as an MK until 2013. Among other legislative responsibilities, he was a member of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Co-chair of the Knesset Lobby for Higher Education, and Chairman of the Knessets permanent delegation to the Council of Europe.IDI and Israels Electoral & Constitutional CrisisFollowing nearly three years of political and economic instability stemming from four election campaigns and a global pandemic, in June of 2021 a government of change was formed with a can-do attitude and broad representation of most segments of Israeli society. IDI enjoyed an outstanding degree of cooperation from members of the government, partnering with leaders fromProf. Karnit Flug, William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy, across the political spectrumYohanan Plesner, Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Prof. Suzie Navot at an IDI conferenceon a series of groundbreaking initiatives to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the workforce, promote economic development of the Arab sector, advance structural reforms designed to enhance government efficiency, boost Israels competitiveness, and foster economic growth for the benefit of all Israeli citizens. PARTNERS FOR DEMOCRACY AWARD HONOREE'