Israel's Ashkenazi: former army chief turns top diplomat

Israel's incoming foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, is the son of a Holocaust survivor and served as a special forces commando, spending nearly four decades in the military before entering politics. A member of the centrist Blue and White Alliance, he has had his differences with right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but is now poised to be his top envoy. Ashkenazi, 66, a veteran of major combat operations and several high-profile commando missions, served as Israel's army chief from 2007 to 2011 -- a term that overlapped with Netanyahu's second stint as Israeli premier from 2009.

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