Yair Lapid
Yair LapidFlash 90

A newcomer to politics, Yair Lapid, the head of the Yesh Atid party has made TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List this year.

Lapid overturned Israel’s elections by garnering 19 mandates in the polls, moving from a position of zero to becoming the second most powerful political entity in the country.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who heads the coalition in which Lapid has become Israel’s Finance Minister, did not make this year’s TIME list, even though he was among the rankings for the past two years.

“If the world at large views Israel through its conflict with the Palestinians, Lapid personlifies the nation’s determinedly inward focus,” TIME wrote in its description of the newcomer.

“A protest candidate from the center, he campaigned on economic justice for a forgotten middle class. After stunning the established parties, he held true to a promise of ‘new politics,’ resisting Netanyahu’s blandishments and forging a government without Israel’s powerful religious parties.”

The magazine finished its description by noting that Lapid hopes to defeat his new coalition partner in the next election, pointing out, “He already has the swagger.”