Shalev was born in Tel Aviv in 1941. Her mother's parents were murdered in Auschwitz, and her father's parents had to leave a comfortable life in Berlin and immigrate to the Yishuv. In 1959 she entered the Israel Defense Forces, and she was honorably discharged in 1961 as a Lieutenant. In 1966, she received an LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As a student, she helped support her family. She received an LL.M. in 1969, and Doctor Jur. in 1973, all from the Hebrew University. Her mentor was Gad Tadeschi. Her husband, Shaul Shalev, was killed near the Suez Canal in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and she raised her two children alone. She was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School from 1975 to 1976. Shalev worked as a clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel from 1964 to 1966, and at the legal department of the Jewish Agency in 1967. She was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 1968. She was Chief Legal Editor of the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1968 to 1980, and Chief Legal Advisor for the reform in national health services in 1991. She was Legal advisor, arbitrator, and expert, in Israel and abroad, on litigation matters concerning national and international transactions.
Academic career
Shalev became a teacher and member of the Hebrew University Faculty of Law in 1964. She became a Full Professor of Contract Law at the Hebrew University in 1986. She was a visiting Professor at Temple Law School, Philadelphia, in 1975, Boston College School of Law in 1976 and 1981, Tulane Law School in 1988, University of Glasgow School of Law in 1991, the University of Toronto in 1993, Leuven University in 1996, and University of Fribourg in 1998. Shalev was Director of the Harry Sacher Institute for Legislative Research and Comparative Law at the Hebrew University Faculty of Law from 1981 to 1984, and a member of the Standard Contracts Tribunal, starting 1983. She was a member of the Codification in Civil Law Committee from 1984 to 2006, and a Legal editor of the Hebrew Encyclopedia's new edition in 1984. She was an advisor on the status of women at the Hebrew University from 1988 to 1990, and became a member of the Committee for Legal Terminology at the Academy of the Hebrew Language in Israel in 1990. She was chairperson of the academic Nomination Committee of the Hebrew University from 1991 to 1994, and appointed chairperson of the Fund for Promotion of Law at the Israeli Ministry of Justice from 1991 to 2000. She was a member of A Statutory Committee for recognition of law schools from 1991 to 1995. Shalev was an academic advisor of the College of Insurance from 1993 to 1998, and chairperson of the Israeli Academic Committee at the University of Manchester from 1995 to 2002. She was a member of the Academic Committee at the Open University from 2001 to 2004. She became the Academic President of the Ono Academic College in 2002. Shalev is regarded as a leading expert in Israel in the fields of contract law and procurement contracts, for which she has provided legal advice and crafted legal opinions, both domestically and abroad. She has written nine books and more than 100 articles in Hebrew and in English, mostly within contract law. Her publications include: Law of Contract, a treatise on Israeli Contract Law; Contract Law, Israel, a monograph forming part of the International Encyclopedia of Law ; The Law of Government Procurement, Public Procurement Contracts in Israel, Public Procurement Law Review 185. Her books are used in law schools and law offices in Israel. Her most recent books are Contract Law – General Part, Towards Codification of the Civil Law, which is an updated version of her previous works, and Contract Law — Remedies for Breach. She won the Sussman's Prize in Law in 1989, became The first incumbent of the Hebrew University's Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Contract Law in 1990, and won the Zeltner's Prize in Law in 1991. She won the Israel Bar Association prize in 2003.
Board memberships
Shalev board memberships include:
Maariv in 1991
Israel Democracy Institute since 1991
Bank Hapoalim from 1990 to 1996
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute as trustee since 1995
On June 24, 2008, Shalev was nominated by Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Olmert and Foreign MinisterTzipi Livni as Israel's new ambassador to the United Nations, replacing Dan Gillerman. Livni's associates said: "The UN is an arena that requires other skills in addition to diplomatic know-how. The fact that she is a woman, and a jurist respected throughout the world, with a great deal of public experience, makes her the best candidate." Livni was criticized for the pick, but responded, "It was important to me to appoint a woman to represent Israel in such an important place.... Professor Shalev is internationally respected; she has fulfilled many public positions in Israel". On September 8, she presented her diplomatic credentials to UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon, and became the first woman to serve as Israel's ambassador to the UN. She said that: "as a woman, a professor and above all as a proud Israeli, I am happy for the opportunity given me to contribute to the state in the complex international arena of the United Nations". Shalev was Israel's Ambassador to the UN until October 2010. She is now president of Ono Academic College.
