Biography
Lior Schleien is an Israeli satirist, the creator and host of the popular prime time comedy and satire TV show State of the Union ("Matzav HaUma"), followed by Back of the Union ("Gav HaUma").
State of the Union ran for seven successful seasons on Israel's Channel 2, and was taken off the air overnight in the middle of its 8th season due to alleged pressure from the Prime Minister's office, after the country's elections were moved up. A day later Schleien signed the show with Channel 10, renaming it Back of the Union.
Every Saturday night Schleien hosts a panel of comedians, writers and media personalities discussing the week's major events and interviewing Israel's leading politicians. He ends each show with a now celebrated monologue - his personal and satirical observation of what bugged him the most that week. Presidents Shimon Peres and Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Joan Rivers (in a special episode taped in New York), were some of the guests on the shows, which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Comedy/Satire Show in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
Schleien (born in Tel Aviv, Israel, 1978) is known for his sharp humor and original political analysis. In 2013 he was chosen by Ha'aretz Newspaper as the 4th most influential person on Israeli Television. He started his TV career in 2002, by writing and hosting a satire segment on Yair Lapid's Talk Show (Lapid is now the leader of the "Yesh Atid" party and a candidate for Prime Minister). Schleien later joined the writing staff of It's A Wonderful Country ("Eretz Nehederet", Israel's SNL) and since 2004 he's been creating, producing and hosting his own shows, including Tonight ("HaLayla"), an Israeli version of The Tonight Show, which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Talk Show.
In addition to his TV career, in 2011 Schleien initiated, produced and hosted a prominent event named When Will The Cops Come? - The Freedom Of Speech Prom ("Matay Yavo Shoter? - Mesibat Sium Hofesh Habituy"). It was a gathering of comedians and media personalities in protest against new laws of the Israeli government designed to restrict the freedom of speech. In the event, which took place in Tel Aviv, every speaker was allocated 5 minutes to say anything on his mind, without reprisal, in the eleventh hour before the new laws were enacted.
Schleien holds a law degree from Tel Aviv University, and is the life partner of Merav Michaeli, a Member of the Israeli Parliament.
