{{short description|Israeli pilot, major general, and political activist}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Nimrod Sheffer <!-- use common name/article title --> | image = Nimrod Sheffer.jpg | alt = Nimrod Sheffer <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|03|16}} <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | native_name = {{Nobold|{{Script/Hebrew|נמרוד שפר}}}} | native_name_lang = he | birth_place = Kibbutz Alonim, Israel | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | office1 = Key Roles | suboffice1 = CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries | subterm1 = 2018-2020 | party = The Democrats | allegiance = {{Flag icon|Israel}} Israel | branch = 25px Israel Defense Forces | service_years = 1979-2015 | rank = 40px Aluf (Major general) | commands = * 253 Squadron * 101 Squadron * Commander of Air Force Operations * Commander of Planning Directorate * Commander of Training at Israeli Air Force * Air Force Chief of Staff * | other_names = | alma_mater = {{hlist|University of Tel Aviv|Harvard University}} | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = {{hlist|Air Force service|political activism|social activism|entrepreneurship}} | notable_works = }} '''Nimrod Sheffer''' ({{langx|he|נמרוד שפר}}; born March 16, 1961) is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who served in his last position as head of the Planning Department. Sheffer is a fighter pilot who served as Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He served as CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries.
==Biography== Sheffer was born and raised in Kibbutz Alonim, the son of Holocaust survivors. He graduated from Carmel Zevulun School.
He enlisted in the Air Force in 1979,<ref name="ynet=april-2025">{{cite web |last=Rubinstein |first=Roi |title=Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer: I Was Dismissed from Reserve Duty After Signing the Pilots' Letter |publisher=Ynet |date=19 April 2025 |language=he |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rj8inh11kxg|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref> completed Flight Course No. 96 in 1981, and was trained as a fighter pilot. He began his career with Squadron 201, and after conversion to the "Netz" aircraft, he served in Squadron 110. From 1984 to 1986, he served as an instructor at the flight school. He served as deputy commander of the 1st Fighter Squadron when it received the first F-16 ("Barak") aircraft in the squadron. In 1994, he was appointed commander of Squadron 253, a KAM squadron, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Between July 1995 and October 1997, he commanded Squadron 101, a single-seat F-16 squadron. In 1997, he was appointed head of the combat branch in the operations department of the force and was responsible for the operational planning of the fighter aircraft in the Air Force. In 1999, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed head of the operations department of the Air Force. From 2001 to 2004, he commanded Ramon Air Base. In 2005, he was appointed head of the planning division in the planning department of the General Staff, and in March 2008, he was appointed head of the Air Force special training unit. In January 2010, he was appointed chief of staff of the Air Force, deputy and acting commander of the force.<ref name="ynet=april-2025" /> In early 2012, he was one of the candidates to replace Ido Nehoshtan as the next commander of the Air Force, a position to which Amir Eshel was ultimately elected. In April 2012, he was appointed head of the Planning Department with the rank of major general, and upon completion of this position, he retired from the IDF.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yehoshua |first=Yossi |title=Four Withdraw: Shapir Will Not Be Commander of the Air Force |publisher=Ynet |date=21 May 2015 |language=he |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4659915,00.html|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref>
In January 2018, he was appointed VP of Strategy and Research at Israel Aerospace Industries,<ref>{{cite web |last=Koren |first=Ora |title=Nimrod Sheffer Appointed VP for Strategy and R&D at Israel Aerospace Industries |publisher=TheMarker |date=24 January 2018 |language=he |url=https://www.themarker.com/news/macro/1.5763605|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref> and in September 2018, he was appointed CEO of the company.<ref>{{cite web |title=CEO Appointment |publisher=Israel Aerospace Industries (official announcement) |date=5 September 2018 |language=he |url=https://maya.tase.co.il/reports/details/1183219|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref> In July 2020, he announced his retirement from the position, effective October of that year.<ref>{{cite web |last=Etzion |first=Udi |title=IAI CEO Nimrod Sheffer Announced the End of His Term |publisher=Calcalist |date=1 July 2020 |language=he |url=https://www.calcalist.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3837250,00.html|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Magen |first=Hadas |title=Just Before Taking Off with a One-Way Ticket, Nimrod Sheffer Reveals: Why He Left IAI After Only Two Years |publisher=Globes |date=4 December 2020 |language=he |url=https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001351609|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref>
In April 2025, he announced that he had been removed from volunteering for the reserves following his signing of the "Pilots' Letter".<ref name="ynet=april-2025" />
On May 22, 2025, Sheffer announced his entry into politics and joining the Democratic Party led by Yair Golan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reserve Major General Joins Yair Golan's Party |publisher=Srugim |date=22 May 2025 |language=he |url=https://www.srugim.co.il/1129269-%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A3-%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%A3-%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%92%D7%94-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%99%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%92%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9F|access-date=5 May 2026}}</ref>
==Personal life== thumb|Nimrod Sheffer as an officer in the Air Force Sheffer holds a BA in Geophysics and Planetary Sciences from Tel Aviv University (1994) and an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University (2005) (as part of the Wexner Foundation Program). He is a graduate of the Air Force Senior Commanders Course at the Institute for Policy and Strategy of the Lauder School of Government at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
Sheffer is married to Haya, the sister of Brigadier General (ret.) Avi Yaakovi, his fellow pilot course member, and is the father of four.
==External links== {{Commonscat|Nimrod Shefer}} *[https://news.walla.co.il/item/2516541 Head of the new Planning Division - Brigadier General Nimrod Sheffer] (Walla) *{{cite web |last=Yehoshua |first=Yossi |title=Four Withdraw: Sheffer Will Not Be Commander of the Air Force |publisher=Ynet |date=21 May 2015 |language=he |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4659915,00.html|access-date=5 May 2026}} *{{cite web |title=The battle that Israel forgot to wage: The mechanism of Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UTXi1yR3Q |publisher=Kan 11 |access-date=5 May 2026 |language=he |date=6 November 2023}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffer, Nimrod}}
Category:Tel Aviv University alumni Category:Israeli military aviators Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:Israeli generals Category:Israeli Air Force generals