Mtanes Shehadeh

Shehadeh grew up in a Christian Arab family in Nazareth. He gained a BA in economic and international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1995, an MA in political science from the University of Haifa, and a PhD in the same subject at the Hebrew University. He worked as a researcher at Mada al-Carmel and became a member of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens.

In February 2019 he was elected leader of Balad.[1] The party ran a joint list with the United Arab List for the April 2019 Knesset elections, with Shehadeh in second place.[2] He was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the alliance won four seats. Prior to the early elections held in September the same year, Balad joined the Joint List alliance, with Shehadeh placed second on the list. He was re-elected as the alliance won thirteen seats.

Shehadeh is married with three children and lives in Isfiya.[3]

• Mtanes Shehadeh on the Knesset website