Meir Rosenne


Meir Rosenne was an Israeli lawyer and diplomat.

Early life and studies

Rosenne was born Meir Rosenhaupt in Jassy, Romania. In 1941 he witnessed the Iași pogrom, which marked him for life. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1944, escaping from Europe on the Turkish boat Kazbek which departed from the Romanian port of Constanţa.
During the 1950s he studied law at the Sorbonne and obtained his Ph.D. in 1957.

Career

Rosenne joined the foreign service in 1953 and served between 1961 and 1967 as consul in New York. From 1971 until 1979 he served as legal adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and played an important part in the negotiations for the Camp David Accords and the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. From 1979 until 1983 he served as the Israeli ambassador to France, and from 1983 until 1987 as the Israeli ambassador to the United States. In 1987 Rosenne retired from the diplomatic service. From 1989 until 1994 he served as president of the Israel Bonds Organization.
Rosenne was a senior partner at the Balter, Guth, Aloni Law firm in Israel and was active with various Zionist organizations. Rosenne taught international law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He was known for supporting Israeli policies regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in his writings and activities worldwide.
Rosenne died on 14 April 2015, aged 84. In memoriam, Colette Avital writes: "Until the end of his life, he remained a staunch defender of Israel, granting TV and radio interviews during which he often quoted relevant clauses in agreements signed by the State of Israel or in international conventions by which it was bound".

Recognition