Yuval Steinitz was born in Israel in 1958. He completed his IDF service in the Golani Brigade and served as a reservist in the Alexandroni Brigade. He holds a B.A. and M.A. (with honors) in Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University. He recieved the Alon Prize for Ph.D. Students in 1993.
Steinitz was a Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy Department at Haifa University. He served as President of the Association for the Public's Right to Know (1999-2004).
A Member of Knesset since 1999, Steinitz has served as member and chairman of the Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, and as member of the Constitution, Law and Justice, and the Science and Technology Committees. He chaired the Committee for the Examination of the Intelligence Services Following the War in Iraq as well as the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for the Events that Took Place in Amona. Since 2003 he has co-chaired the Joint Congress-Knesset Security Committee, together with Senator John Kyl (Arizona).
Yuval Steinitz was appointed Minister of Finance in March 2009.
He is married and the father of three children.