The Israeli government has approved the appointment of Doron Cohen as the new head of the Government Companies Authority.

Cohen, who was put forward for the post by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, is replacing Udi Nissan who has been moved to the key position at the Finance Ministry a few months ago after being nominated as Budget Director taking over from Ram Belinkov.

The Finance Minister chose Cohen on the basis of his ample management experience in the private sector in particular in mergers and acquisitions of companies in Israel and abroad.

In the past Cohen, 49, was chairman of Amidar Israel National Housing Company. He has served in the past as comptroller at Israel Chemicals Ltd., CFO at Golden Pages Ltd. , and CFO of Strauss Group Ltd. unit Elite International.

Cohen holds a BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University, and an MA in Law from Bar Ilan University.