Natan Sharansky is an Israeli politician, human rights activist, and author who, as a refusenik in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s, spent nine years in Soviet prisons. During his time in the Israeli government, including as deputy prime minister, and as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Sharansky fought tirelessly for the rights of new immigrants, religious minorities, and women. At the helm of the Jewish Agency, he focused on repatriation of Jews to Israel, strengthening the links between Israel and global Jewry, and made an effort to develop a separate, egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall. Sharansky is the sole living non-U.S. citizen to receive both the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is married to Avital Sharansky and has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah.

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