Ephraim Sneh is an Israeli statesman, physician, and a retired Brigadier General of the Israel Defence Forces. He was a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 1992 and 2008 and served in several ministerial posts. He has an M.D. from Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine, and he was a Research Fellow at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre.

Dr. Sneh served as a career officer in the IDF until 1987 reaching the rank of Brigadier-General. He began his military career as a Medical Officer in the Paratroops Brigade. In 1974, he became Chief Medical Officer of the Paratroops and Infantry Corps. He was Commander of the Medical Teams during the Entebbe Rescue Operation in 1976.In 1978 he established and commanded for two years the IAF elite unit 669, the combat airborne rescue and medical evacuation unit. In 1980, Ephraim Sneh was promoted to Chief Medical Officer of the IDF Northern Command, and the following year became Commander of the Security Zone in South Lebanon. Between 1985-1987, he served as Head of the Civil Administration of the West Bank.

In 1988 he led the first secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO. In 1992 he was elected to the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party and served in a number of roles, including as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee; as Minister of Health from June 1994 until 1996; as Deputy Minister of Defence from July 1999 until March 2001; and as Minister of Transportation from March 2001 until October 2002.He initiated the fast railway line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the train from Haifa to the Jordan valley, the train to Carmiel in the north of Israel, and the railway lines to the southern towns of Israel. In February 2002 Dr. Sneh was the first Israeli member of cabinet who secretly held an official visit in UAE and met H.H. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

In 2003, in an effort to jump-start the peace process, Dr. Sneh co-authored “the Gaza Pilot” plan with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas which encouraged the transfer of control in Gaza to the Palestinians, the development of economic infrastructure, and crackdown on terror in the area.

In March 2006, Dr. Sneh was re-elected to the Knesset and again served as Chairman of the Labor Parliamentary Faction, and in October 2006, he was again appointed as the Deputy Minister of Defence. He held this position until June 2007. In May 2008 he left the Labor Party and resigned from the Knesset. He remains active in Israeli international business, politics and civil society.