Shabtai Shavit held a variety of senior positions within the Mossad for over 32 years, including head of the agency between 1989 and 1996. Since 2001 he has been the Chairman of the Board of the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, advisor to Israel's National Security Council, and advisor to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.