Political Career
In 1984 he was first elected to the Knesset as a member of Ratz (headed by Shulamit Aloni) after he headed the Left Camp of Israel peace movement.
Since 1992, he has been a member of Meretz, a dovish left wing party which resulted from the merger of Mapam, Ratz and Shinui. He was Minister of Industry and Trade in Ehud Barak's government. He headed several Knesset committees, including the Security and Foreign Affairs committee.
Cohen is most identified with "Law of Public Housing", which allowed residents of houses supplied by the state to assume ownership on the house. He also managed to pass a law regulating minimum wages.
Cohen's political focus is on social-economic issues rather than foreign affairs and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
After Meretz merged with Yossi Beilin's Shachar movement and renamed itself Yachad in 2004, Ran Cohen ran for the chairmainship of the new party, but lost to Beilin. Supporters of Ran Cohen blamed his defeat on anti-Mizrahi racism within the party and pointed out that he was the only non-Ashkenazi to reach a senior position within it.
On 1 November 2008, following Beilin's resignation, he announced his intention to retire from political life and not to seek a spot on the party's roster ahead of the upcoming general elections. He said "I want to start chapter three of my life, to do things for my soul: writing, lecturing, taking part in social and public initiatives that interest me".
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