Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Republic of Uzbekistan
Gideon LUSTIG is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Republic of Uzbekistan and a non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan. He began his assignment in august 2024.
Before his departure to Tashkent, Mr. Lustig served as the Chief of Staff to the Political Director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2022-2024), leading a team in charge of synergizing the work of different divisions in the ministry, including all geographic divisions, the division for UN and International Organizations, and the division for Strategic Affairs. In this capacity, he also served as an advisor to the Political Director.
Prior to that, Mr. Lustig served as the Director of the Department for UN Political Affairs (2021-2022), in charge of crafting and executing Israel's foreign policy in the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council, as well as Israel's political coordination with peacekeeping forces in the Near East. Previously, Mr. LUSTIG held the position of Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Israel in Paris, focusing on bolstering the Israeli-Franco bilateral relationship, French foreign and security policies as well as strategic affairs (2018-2021). Beforehand, Mr. LUSTIG served as Deputy Head of Mission in the Embassy of Israel in The Hague (2016-2018), responsible for promoting the bilateral relations between Israel and the Netherlands at various levels, and maintaining Israel’s connection with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (2016-2018). He also served as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of Israel in San Francisco (2009-2013). In Israel, Mr. LUSTIG served in the Department for Regional Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Israeli MFA (2013-2016) promoting wide cooperation with different countries in the fields of legislation, sanctions, trainings and exchange of know-how.
Before launching his diplomatic career, Mr. Lustig served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces for ten years, with a final rank of Major.
Mr. Lustig holds a Master's degree (with honors) in Middle Eastern Studies from Tel-Aviv University and a Bachelor's degree (with honors) in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During his studies, he specialized in extremism and terrorism. Mr. Lustig is a native speaker of Hebrew; he is fluent in English and proficient in Arabic.
Mr. LUSTIG is married to Nufar and has three children. He enjoys Art, likes spending time gardening, and will gladly try cooking any new recipe you can recommend.