Tamir Pardo, the 11th Mossad Director, was born in Tel Aviv in 1953. He served as Mossad Director in 2011–2016.
Tamir Pardo holds a B.A. in political science from Tel Aviv University. In 1971, Pardo was drafted into the IDF and served as a communications officer in Sayeret Matkal (Special Forces unit). During the Entebbe operation, he served as the personal communications officer of the operation's commander, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu (deceased). Later, Pardo was part of the team that established the Shaldag Unit (air force special operations), and served as the unit's first communications officer. Pardo completed his IDF service in 1978 with the rank of captain.
Tamir Pardo joined the Mossad in 1979, and served in an operational unit. He advanced through the ranks of operational divisions, until he was appointed head of the Special Ops. Division. In 2002, Pardo was appointed Deputy Mossad Director. He then established the organization's operations directorate and commanded it. In 2006, Pardo was seconded to the IDF and served as an advisor in the special operations division. During the 2006 Lebanon War, he was part of the team responsible for special operations in Lebanon. In summer 2007, Pardo returned to the Mossad as Deputy Mossad Director. He held this position until summer 2009.
In November 2010, Tamir Pardo was appointed Mossad Director by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He began his term on 06 January 2011. Pardo's term as Mossad Director was characterized by contending with regional upheavals; focusing mainly on Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas; and foiling terror activity. During his term, the Mossad's operational, technological, intelligence, and logistic capabilities were improved; intelligence and operational cooperation with foreign countries was expanded, including with countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel; and interfaces with Israel's other security bodies — ISA, IDF, etc. — were upgraded.
During these five years, the Mossad received five Israel Security Awards for daring and groundbreaking operations.