 Ambassador Mekel joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984 as a Senior Researcher at the Center for Political Research.He has held a long succession of prominent positions since then, including adviser to Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir (1985-1986), Director of the Government’s Media Center, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Israel to South Korea (2001), Special Adviser to the Deputy Foreign Minister on combating antisemitism (2001-2002) and Special Government Spokesman for Foreign Media (2000-2002).Ambassador Mekel is married to Ruth, a journalist and public relations consultant.