anniversary - Israel - leaders

Israel's prime ministers

Sunday 11 May 2008

Discover the government leaders who shaped the history of Israel since its creation in 1948.

David Ben-Gurion, the founder

(1886-1973)

Born in Poland and raised in a Zionist family, David Ben-Gurion is best remembered for his role in establishing the state of Israel in 1948. The morning after this pivotal historical date he became the first head of government of the Jewish state. A charismatic leader and founder of Mapai, the Israeli Labour party, he presided over the new state’s organisation and the establishment of its first diplomatic ties.

Golda Meir, Iron Lady

(1898-1978)

A militant Zionist from the beginning, Golda Meir ranks among the founders of Mapai. Her image, along with that of David Ben-Gurion, is closely tied to the creation of the Jewish state. She remains, to this day, the only Israeli woman to have served as prime minister, from 1969 to 1974. Criticized after the Yom Kippur war for leaving the country unprepared, she resigned under pressure from public opinion in 1974, thereby retiring from politics. Her term in office was also marked by the bloody hostage taking of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.

Yitzhak Rabin, a hero in war and in peace

(1922-1995)

After a military career during which he became chief of staff for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Yitzhak Rabin pursued a diplomatic, then later political, path that eventually led him to become prime minister. He succeeded Golda Meir in 1974 before stepping down three years later. Returning to power in 1992, he signed the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993, and attempted to seal reconciliation with the Palestinians. He was rewarded for this historic initiative with the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, which he received in the company of Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres. On November 4, 1995, he was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli radical during a rally for peace in Tel Aviv.

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Shimon Peres, the senior politician

(Born 1923)

The current president of the Jewish state is the most senior member of the Israeli political scene. A well-known figure throughout the world, he served as prime minister from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1995 to 1996, while also serving several terms as foreign affairs minister. In 1994, following the Oslo Accords, of which he was one of the main craftsmen, Shimon Peres received the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. Before joining forces with his political enemy Ariel Sharon, in 2005, he was one of the pillars of the Labour party, which he led three times over as many decades (1977-1992, 1995-1997, 2003-2005).

Menachem Begin, the hawk

(1913-1992)

The morning after the establishment of the Jewish state, Menachem Begin, then-chief of the Irgun Zvati Leumi (National Military Organization), founded the Herut Movement, predecessor of the right-wing Likud party. When he won the 1977 legislative elections, Begin became Israel's first right-wing prime minister. On the international scene, his first term was distinguished by the Damp David accords of 1978, which heralded the signing of a peace treaty with neighbour Egypt a year later. For this he received the Nobel Peace Price in 1978, along with Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat. Reelected in 1981, Begin resigned two years later, worn down by political life and ferocious criticism following his decision to invade Lebanon in 1982.

Itzhak Shamir, the clandestine

(Born 1915)

Before being elected to parliament in 1973, Itzhak Shamir devoted his life to clandestine acts, in particular during the British mandate over Palestine. A member of Etzel and then chief of the Lehi, two clandestine nationalist movements, he was twice arrested by British authorities. In 1955, he infiltrated the Mossad (Israeli secret service), serving there for ten years. He entered politics in 1970, by joining the Herut party formed by Menachem Begin. He replaced Begin in 1983 as prime minister and head of the Likud party. In power until 1992, it is during his term that the first Palestinian Intifida against Israeli occupation began in 1987.

Ariel Sharon, the controversial general

(Born 1928)

Ariel Sharon served in the Israeli army following the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. He directed military operations against Palestinian fighters until 1956 and participated in all the Arab-Israeli wars.

Sharon became a national hero during the Yom Kippur war in 1973. The same year, he was elected to parliament as a member Likud, of which he was a co-founder. A government minister on various occasions, his reputation was tarnished by the 1982 massacres in the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Chatila.

In 2000, his controversial visit to the Temple Mount, the third holiest shrine in Islam, unleashed the second Palestinian Intifada. The next year, he became prime minister after winning the legislative elections. A fervent partisan of the Israeli settlements in Gaza, he nevertheless ordered their evacuation in 2005. Facing mounting criticism from his own camp, he resigned from Likud and founded a new party, Kadima, in preparation for the March 2006 elections – a poll he was not to take part in. In a coma since suffering a brain stroke in January 2006, he was replaced at the head of the party by Ehud Olmert, who went on to win the elections and become the country’s prime minister.

Binyamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu

(Born 1949)

Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, right-wing hardliner Binyamin Netanyahu was the first Israeli leader to be born after the creation of the Israeli state. He was elected prime minister in 1996, but stepped down after his Likud party was defeated in 1999. Netanyahu also served as foreign affairs minister and finance minister under Ariel Sharon.

Ehud Olmert, shadowed by corruption

(Born 1945)

A former mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert was first elected to the parliament (Knesset) in 1973 at the age of 28 and was re-elected seven consecutive times. He took over as interim prime minister on January 4, 2006, after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke. Olmert led Sharon’s young Kadima party to victory in the 2006 general elections, after which he was confirmed as the country’s prime minister.