Ronen Bar and Naftali Bennett
Ronen Bar and Naftali BennettKobi Gideon/GPO

The Israeli government approved the appointment of the new chief of the Shin Bet (Shabak), Israel’s secretive internal security agency.

With the government’s approval for the appointment Monday afternoon, the new chief’s identity was cleared for publication.

Ronen Bar, 55, currently the deputy chief of the Shin Bet, will begin serving as director of the agency starting this Thursday.

A married father of three, Bar holds Bachelor’s Degrees from Tel Aviv University in Political Science and Philosophy, and a Master’s Degree from Harvard in Public Management.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appointed Bar on September 1st, though his identity remained barred from publication until the government approved the appointment Monday.

Bar will replace outgoing Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman, who was appointed by then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2016.

At the time of his appointment, Prime Minister Bennett lauded Bar as a “brave soldier”.

“Ronen is a brave soldier and an excellent commander. I have no doubt that he will lead the agency to new heights of excellence for Israel’s security.”