Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday named Ilan Rom, a longtime intelligence official, as the Finance Ministry's director general.
As the ministry's top civil servant, Rom will replace Shlomi Heisler, who said he was stepping down this month after two years in the post for "urgent personal reasons".
Rom served 25 years at Israel's Mossad spy agency.
For the last 2-1/2 years Rom was chief executive of Israel's largest regional council, Mateh Binyamin. The ministry noted that at the council, he spearheaded significant changes, focusing on economic development, including the accelerated planning and development of five major industrial zones, Reuters reported.
He also led a deep economic efficiency initiative, achieving budgetary balance and profitability in the council for the first time, even during wartime, the ministry said.
"The tasks before us are challenging. I intend to dedicate all my efforts to the economic development of the state during this long and difficult war to alleviate the cost of living and encourage growth engines," Rom said in a statement referring to Israel's 15-month-old war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Smotrich said Rom will use his experience to advance the economy and financial system in Israel, promote growth and reduce bureaucratic barriers.
Rom enters the post at a time when Israel's economy has weakened due to its military conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, with spending on the wars costing some $25 billion in 2024 - leading to a wider budget deficit and debt burden and leading to credit rating reductions by all three major agencies.
Parliament has given an initial nod to an austerity 2025 state budget but it still needs to pass two more votes to become law. In the meantime, Israel is using a prorated version of the 2024 budget.
