Moshe Katsav (born December 5, 1945, in Yazd, Iran) was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007, becoming the first Mizrahi Jew to hold the office. He immigrated to Israel with his family in 1951, grew up in economic hardship in Beersheba, served in the IDF, and earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Hebrew University. A Likud party politician, he was elected to the Knesset in 1977 at age 31 and held various ministerial positions including deputy prime minister, minister of tourism, and minister of transportation. His presidency was cut short by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, leading to his resignation in 2007. In 2010, he was convicted of rape and sexual assault, sentenced to seven years in prison, and served five years before parole in 2015. He remains the only former Israeli president imprisoned for crimes.