Simona Halperin is a career diplomat, Deputy Director General, head of Europe Division at the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs.
Prior to assuming the position DDG for Europe, Simona was the Ambassador of Israel to the Russian Federation (2023-2025), and before that – Deputy Director General head of EuroAsia and western Balkans Division at the Israeli ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Her previous position oversees was Israel’s Ambassador to Singapore & East Timor, and Before Coming to Singapore, Simona headed the Israel Economics and Cultural Office in Taipei from 2010 to 2015.
She was born in Riga, Latvia in 1969, and lived in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) until repatriating to Israel in 1976.
Before joining the Diplomatic Service in 1993, Simona completed her BA in Economics & business administration, and her compulsory military service (serving as the economics and budget officer in the education corps). She received her Master’s degree in Law and Public administration (with honors) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she was a teaching assistant for the course on cost benefit analysis, and a second Master’s degree in Public Policy (Strategy and National Defense studies) from Haifa University.
With over 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, Simona served as deputy ambassador in Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea, as counselor to the European Parliament at the Israeli Mission to the EU, and as a director of the International Organizations and Human Rights Department at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She was awarded “Excellent Employee (Excellent Team)” award – first in 1998 (at the Israeli Embassy in Korea), then in 2000 (for her part in the management of the visit to Israel of Pope John Paul the 2nd) and again in 2022 (as head of EuroAsia bureau, for her role within the context of the Ukraine crisis) Simona speaks Hebrew, English and Russian.
Simona is married and is a mother of five – 3 boys and 2 girls.
