Shimon Peres

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(b. Wolozyn, Poland, 16 Aug. 1923) Israeli; Prime Minister 1977, 1984 – 6, 1995 – 6 Shimon Preski emigrated to Palestine in 1934, joined the nascent Israeli army in 1948, and headed the embryonic Israeli navy in the same year. He directed the Ministry of Defence until elected to the Knesset in 1959 as a member of the leftist Mapai party. After Golda Meir's fall, Peres became Defence Minister in Yitzhak Rabin's Labour government 1974 – 7 and Prime Minister on Rabin's resignation in 1977. Defeated in the general elections of the same year, Peres led Labour to electoral defeat in 1981 and to the inconclusive outcome of the 1984 elections. Under an agreement between Labour and Likud for their leaders to exchange offices after two years, Peres became Prime Minister in the National Unity government from 1984, with Shamir as his Deputy Prime Minister. Although the popular withdrawal from Lebanon by the Israeli Defence Forces was completed in 1985, except for the border area "security zone", the Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987, and the 1988 peace plan of US Secretary of State Schultz revealed deep divisions between Peres and Premier Shamir. These were to lead to the break-up of the second Likud-Labour government in 1990 over the peace plan of US Secretary of State Baker. After losing the leadership of Labour to Rabin, Peres became Foreign Minister in Rabin's Labour government after the elections of 1992 and was the architect of a historic peace agreement with the PLO in 1993. Following Rabin's assassination in November 1995, Prime Minister Peres defended its implementation against the opposition of Israeli right-wingers and Islamist Palestinians. Peres was narrowly defeated by Netanyahu in the new-style premiership election of May 1996 and consequently failed to form a Labour government for a fifth and final time.

Shimon Peres (born 1923) served as Israel's prime minister from 1984 through 1986 and again in 1995, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiations with the Palestinians, along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

Shimon Peres was born to Yitzhak and Sara Persky in 1923 in Volozhin, Poland. In 1931 Yitzhak Persky emigrated to Palestine, with his family following two years later. In Palestine, the family changed their name legally to Peres. Peres began his studies at Tel-Aviv's Balfour School and continued at the Ben-Shemen agricultural school and youth village. Joining the clandestine Jewish self-defense organization the Haganah in 1941, Peres helped found Kibbutz Alumot in the lower Galilee where he met his future wife, Sonya Gelman. They married in 1945 and had three children.

Peres became actively involved in politics as a young member of Mapai, the dominant labor party. He served as secretary-general of Hanoar Haoved, the Histradrut labor federation's youth movement, and was a delegate in 1946 to the 22nd World Zionist Congress. He was also a position commander of Hagganah, and dedicated to fulfilling the organizations goals. It was during this period that Peres first came to the attention of David Ben-Gurion, leader of the campaign for Jewish statehood in Palestine. A strong relationship developed in which Peres earned the trust of the future first prime minister and, in return, showed steadfast loyalty in the many struggles of that period.

Under Ben-Gurion's patronage Peres came to assume increasingly more responsible positions after Israel became an independent nation in 1948. In the war for independence (1948-1949) he was assigned to the newly-formed ministry of defense and remained there until 1959. During that decade Peres served as chief of the naval department in 1948, was sent to the United States in 1950 on an arms-procurement mission (as well as to complete his education), and in the years 1952-1959 filled the top administrative post of director-general of the ministry.

Peres is remembered for having played a key role in Israeli national security. First, he was instrumental in establishing the indigenous Israeli defense industries. Second, at a time when Israel found itself isolated diplomatically in the face of mounting Arab threats and militarization, Peres encouraged collaboration with France. His secret contacts in Paris resulted in a flow of sophisticated weapons and military technologies from France, enabling Israel to conduct the successful Sinai campaign in 1956.

Peres simultaneously rose in the Mapai Party's ranks as one of the "young guard, " which included such other distinguished figures as Moshe Dayan, Abba Eban, and Yigal Allon. But while respected for his managerial skills, Peres also earned the enmity of party stalwarts who regarded him as more of a technocrat. Peres was often allowed to exercise authority beyond his job description that earned him both the criticism and envy of other ministers. He earned a reputation as a shrewd effective negotiator, who often succeeded by bypassing diplomatic channels and establishing his own relationships. Nevertheless, he earned a high place on the party's list of candidates and was first elected to the Knesset (Israel's parliament) in 1959. He then served as deputy defense minister. Leaving Mapai, he helped form the breakaway Rafi Party and was returned to the Knesset in 1965. Three years later he helped negotiate a formal reconciliation with Mapai, resulting in the Labour/Alignment. Returned to the Knesset in 1969, Peres served as minister of immigrant absorption and minister-without-portfolio until August 1970, when he was given the post of minister for transport and communication. In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War (1973) Peres briefly served as minister of information as part of a cabinet reshuffle.

When Golda Meir stepped aside as leader of the Alignment in 1974, a fiercely-contested succession struggle found Peres losing to Yitzhak Rabin by a narrow margin, 298 votes to 254. The Knesset endorsed the Rabin government in June, with Peres as minister of defense. Despite a strained personal and working relationship, Peres was actively involved in the separation of forces agreements with Syria and Egypt during the "shuttle diplomacy" of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He also administered the West Bank territories and restored the Israel Defense Forces to a peak of efficiency after the 1973 fighting.

The 1977 national elections witnessed a major reversal in Israeli politics, with the opposition Likud Party swept into office and Labour now out of power for the first time in 29 years. Peres, replacing Rabin as party chief, demonstrated admirable dedication in rebuilding the Alignment's political fortunes. A tireless campaigner, widely-read, and an experienced parliamentarian, Peres was a sharp critic of Begin government policies. He was especially critical of the aims and conduct of Operation "Peace for Galilee, " the invasion of Lebanon launched in June 1982.

In the 1984 elections the Israeli electorate failed to issue a clear mandate to either of the two major blocs: Likud or the Alignment. In the resultant deadlock it became necessary to seek some form of collaboration. These efforts led to formation of the National Unity Government. It was agreed that Peres would serve as prime minister for the first two years of the four-year term, after which he shifted position, serving as foreign minister and vice premier under Yitzhak Shamir.

During his term as prime minister Peres concentrated on a number of immediate priorities which centered on disengagement from Lebanon, checking the rampant inflation and restoring economic growth, streamlining the work of the prime minister's office and of the unwieldy 25-member cabinet, and deepening the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt while seeking resolution of the Arab-Israel conflict through his "Jordanian option." He also strengthened ties with the United States while improving the Israeli image and international position. During this time Peres became known for his efforts to work out a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem on the West Bank.

In 1992 Peres lost party leadership to Rabin, but was appointed foreign minister in the new Labor cabinet. As foreign minister, he used his considerable negotiating skills to bring about the prospect of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Often criticized for his desire to grant the Palestinians more autonomy, Peres' maintained that negotiation was the only way to settle the centuries-long conflict. In 1994 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Peres, Rabin, and Yassar Arafat in recognition of their role in forging the Palestinian autonomy agreements.

On November 4, 1995, this promise of peace was dealt a devastating blow when Rabin was assassinated by a right wing Israeli student. Peres assumed the role of prime minister, vowing to continue the peace negotiations. In February 1996 he called for new elections, hoping that they would renew his mandate for peace. It appeared that he would win the election, when a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 24 Israelis. The mood of the public changed and Likud's candidate, Benjamin Netanyahu, became the new prime minister.

In May 1997 Peres, afraid that he would lose his reelection bid to be Labor party leader, proposed creating the new post of Party President. He then served an ultimatum that if the party would not throw support for the post, he would not run for it. The party postponed any discussion and thereby informed Peres that his days as Labor party leader were numbered. He retired from his position.

Further Reading

Additional information on Peres can be found in Matti Golan, Shimon Peres: A Biography (1982) and in Peres' own book David's Sling (1982). See also Bernard Reich, Israel: Land of Tradition and Conflict (1985). Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary (1990); the Electronic Telegraph (February 26, 1996, March 6, 1996, February 20, 1996, February 12, 1996, November 22, 1995, November 6, 1995).

Peres was first elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in 1959. Instrumental in the formation of the Labor party (1968), Peres was minister of defense from 1974 to 1977, when he was elected party chairman. After losing two bids (1977 and 1981) for the prime ministership, he alternated (1984-86) in the office with Likud party leader Yitzhak Shamir in a national unity government and was widely praised for helping to remove Israeli troops from Lebanon and for slashing runaway inflation. He was later foreign minister (1986) and, after again losing to Shamir (1988), finance minister in unity governments led by the prime minister.

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin, who had just ousted Peres as Labor party leader, became prime minister and appointed Peres foreign minister. Peres negotiated the historic Oslo peace accords (1993) with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), for which he was awarded, with Rabin and PLO leader Yasir Arafat, the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. In Nov., 1995, Rabin was assassinated, and Peres succeeded him as prime minister and defense minister. In the May, 1996, elections he narrowly lost the prime ministership to the Likud candidate Benjamin Netanyahu.

After the 1999 election of Ehud Barak as prime minister, Peres was named minister of regional cooperation. In 2000 he was defeated in a Knesset election for the largely ceremonial position of president of Israel. Following Barak's defeat (2001) by Ariel Sharon, Peres became foreign minister in a government of national unity (2001-2) and later vice prime minister in a Likud-and-Labor-dominated coalition government (2005). Meanwhile, he again became party leader in 2003, but lost the post in late 2005 to union leader Amir Peretz. Subsequently, Peres lent his support to Sharon's formation (2005) of the centrist Kadima party. Under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Sharon's successor, Peres served (2006-7) as vice prime minister and minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee. In 2007 he was elected president of Israel, a largely ceremonial post.

1923 -

Israeli politician, military leader, and cabinet member; prime minister, 1984 - 1986, 1995 - 1996.

Born Shimon Perski in Belorussia in 1923, Peres migrated to Palestine in 1934. In 1947, he joined the Haganah, which was then led by David Ben-Gurion, who became Peres's political mentor. He spent several years in Kibbutz Geva and Kibbutz Alumot. In 1948 Ben-Gurion appointed Peres, then twenty-five, to head Israel's navy. Peres subsequently studied politics and economics in the United States. In 1952 he was appointed deputy director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry and served as director-general until 1959. As a leading Defense Ministry official, he participated in secret armament negotiations with the French prior to the Sinai campaign of 1956.

Peres advocated military aid (in addition to other aid and exchange programs) for the new states of Africa to help Israel develop influence there. In 1959 he was elected for the first time to the Knesset, and he and his ally Moshe Dayan argued for a change in government policy that shifted government emphasis from pioneering to enhancing state efficiency. From 1959 to 1965 Peres served as deputy defense minister. During this period he helped to develop a "special relationship" with France; he was also responsible for Israel's nuclear program.

Although being a protégé of David Ben-Gurion was advantageous in Peres's early career, it was disadvantageous later when Ben-Gurion's political capital within MAPAI decreased. In 1965 Peres left the Defense Ministry to help Ben-Gurion establish Rafi, a new party, and in 1967 he helped to negotiate a reconciliation between Rafi, MAPAI, and Ahdut ha-Avodah that resulted in the creation of the new Israeli Labor Party.

In 1969 Peres was appointed minister of immigrant absorption; from 1970 to 1974 he served as transport minister in the government of Golda Meir. During 1974 he was minister of information. Although he was one of the contenders to succeed Meir when she resigned in 1974, he lost the Labor leadership race to Yitzhak Rabin. The competition between Peres and Rabin for leadership of the Labor Party would continue until Rabin's assassination in 1995. In 1974 Peres was named defense minister, an office he held until the 1977 election, and he served briefly as acting prime minister in 1977 after Rabin's resignation. After gaining command of the Labor Party in 1977, he led it twice to defeats by Menachem Begin and the Likud Party (1977, 1981). According to many, his losses were due to the public's skepticism about his rapid change from defense hawk to dove in relation to dealing with the Palestinians.

In 1984 both major parties failed to win a majority of seats in the Knesset and a national unity government involving both the Labor and the Likud parties was formed. Shimon Peres served as prime minister and Yitzhak Shamir as foreign minister until 1986, whereupon they switched roles for the remainder of the term of the Knesset.

In the Knesset elections of 1992 the Labor Party recaptured power and Peres became foreign minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Rabin. As foreign minister he negotiated the later stages of the Oslo Agreement and convinced Rabin to support it. In recognition of his efforts to achieve peace in the region Peres shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Rabin and Yasir Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization in October 1994.

Following Rabin's assassination in November 1995 Peres became prime minister for seven months until the elections of May 1996, when he again lost to the Likud, headed by Benyamin Netanyahu. A year later Peres resigned as chair of the Labor Party, and in June 1997 Ehud Barak, former chief of staff and member of the Knesset, was elected to chair the Labor Party.

Barak was elected prime minister in 1999, and Peres served as his minister of regional cooperation from July 1999 to March 2001. After the March 2001 election in which Barak lost to the Likud's Ariel Sharon, Peres was appointed minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in the national unity government led by Sharon. In October 2002 Peres and other members of the Labor Party resigned from the Sharon government.

Bibliography

Golan, Matti. The Road to Peace: A Biography of Shimon Peres. New York: Warner Books, 1989.

Golan, Matti. Shimon Peres: A Biography. New York: St. Martin's, 1982.

Peres, Shimon. David's Sling, reprint edition. New York: Random House, 1995.

Peres, Shimon, and Landau, David. Battling for Peace: AMemoir. New York: Random House, 1995.

Peres, Shimon, and Littell, Robert. For the Future of Israel. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

Sachar, Howard M. A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism toOur Time. New York: Knopf, 1981.

— GREGORY S. MAHLER

Shimon Peres שמעון פרס
9th President of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 July 2007
Prime Minister	Ehud Olmert Benjamin Netanyahu
Preceded by	Moshe Katsav
Prime Minister of Israel
In office 4 November 1995 – 18 June 1996 Acting: 4 November 1995 – 22 November 1995
President	Ezer Weizman
Preceded by	Yitzhak Rabin
Succeeded by	Benjamin Netanyahu
In office 13 September 1984 – 20 October 1986
President	Chaim Herzog
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Yitzhak Shamir
In office 22 April 1977 – 21 June 1977 Acting
President	Ephraim Katzir
Preceded by	Yitzhak Rabin
Succeeded by	Menachem Begin
Personal details
Born	Szymon Perski (1923-08-02) 2 August 1923 (age 88) Wiszniew, Poland (now Belarus)
Political party	Kadima (2005–present)
Other political affiliations	Mapai (1959–1965) Rafi (1965–1968) Labor (1968–2005)
Spouse(s)	Sonya Gelman (1945–2011)
Children	Zvia Yoni Chemi
Religion	Judaism
Signature

 Shimon Peres (help·info) GCMG^[1] (Hebrew: שמעון פרס‎, born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923) is the ninth and current President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years.^[2] Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, served continuously until 2007, when he became President.

He held several diplomatic and military positions during and directly after Israel's War of Independence. His first high-level government position was as Deputy Director-General of Defense in 1952, and Director-General in 1953 through 1959.^[3] During his career, he has represented five political parties in the Knesset: Mapai, Rafi, the Alignment, Labor and Kadima, and has led Alignment and Labour. Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the peace talks that he participated in as Israeli Foreign Minister, producing the Oslo Accords.^[3]

Peres was nominated in early 2007 by Kadima to run in that year's presidential election, and was elected by the Knesset to the presidency on 13 June 2007 and sworn into office on 15 July 2007 for a seven-year term.^[4][5] He is the first former Prime Minister to be elected President of Israel.

As an 88 year old, Peres is the world's oldest de jure head of state.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Military career 3 Political career 4 Presidency 5 Political views 6 Family 7 Books 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Biography

Shimon Peres was born Szymon Perski on 2 August 1923^[6][7] in Wiszniewo, Poland (now Višnieva, Belarus), to Yitzhak (1896–1962) and Sara (b. 1905 née Meltzer) Perski.^[3][8] The family spoke Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian at home, and Peres learned Polish at school. He now speaks English and French in addition to Hebrew.^[9] His father was a lumber merchant, later branching out into other commodities while his mother was a librarian. Peres has a younger brother, Gershon,^[10] and is a first cousin of American actress Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Persky).^[11][12]

Peres' grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Meltzer, a grandson of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, had a great impact on his life. In an interview, Peres said: "As a child, I grew up in my grandfather's home… I was educated by him… my grandfather taught me Talmud. It was not as easy as it sounds. My home was not an observant one. My parents were not Orthodox but I was Haredi. At one point, I heard my parents listening to the radio on the Sabbath and I smashed it."^[13] All of Peres' relatives who remained in Wiszniewo in 1941 were murdered during the Holocaust,^[14] many of them (including Rabbi Meltzer) burned alive in the town's synagogue.^[15]

Shimon Peres (standing, third from right) with his family, ca. 1930

In 1932, Peres' father immigrated to Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. The family followed him in 1934.^[10] He attended Balfour Elementary School and High School, and Geula Gymnasium (High School for Commerce) in Tel Aviv. At 15, he transferred to Ben Shemen agricultural school and lived on Kibbutz Geva for several years.^[10] Peres was one of the founders of Kibbutz Alumot. In 1941 he was elected Secretary of Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, a Labor Zionist youth movement, and in 1944 returned to Alumot, where he worked as a dairy farmer, shepherd and kibbutz secretary.

In 1945, Peres married Sonya Gelman, who preferred to remain outside the public eye. They had three children. Sonya Peres was unable to attend Shimon's inauguration ceremony due to ill health.^[16] She died on 20 January 2011, aged 87.^[17]

In 2005, he was voted the 11th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[18]

Military career

Peres (center) with Ezer Weizman and King Mahendra of Nepal in 1958

In 1947, Peres joined the Haganah, the predecessor of the Israel Defense Forces. David Ben-Gurion made him responsible for personnel and arms purchases.

In 1952, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, and the following year, he became Director-General. At age 29, he was the youngest person to hold this position. He was involved in arms purchases and establishing strategic alliances that were important for the State of Israel. He was instrumental in establishing close relations with France, securing massive amounts of quality arms that, in turn, helped to tip the balance of power in the region.^[19] Owing to Peres' mediation, Israel acquired the advanced Dassault Mirage III French jet fighter, established the Dimona nuclear reactor and entered into a tri-national agreement with France and the United Kingdom, positioning Israel in what would become the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Political career

Peres was first elected to the Knesset in the 1959 elections, as a member of the Mapai party. He was given the role of Deputy Defense Minister, which he fulfilled until 1965. Peres and Moshe Dayan left Mapai with David Ben-Gurion to form a new party, Rafi, which reconciled with Mapai and joined the Alignment (a left-wing alliance) in 1968.

In 1969, Peres was appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption and in 1970 became Minister of Transportation and Communications. In 1974, after a period as Information Minister, he was appointed Minister of Defense in the Yitzhak Rabin government, having been Rabin's chief rival for the post of Prime Minister after Golda Meir resigned in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. During this time, Peres continued to challenge Rabin for the chairmanship of the party, but in 1977, he again lost to Rabin in the party elections.

Peres succeeded Rabin as party leader prior to the 1977 elections when Rabin stepped down in the wake of a foreign currency scandal involving his wife. As Rabin could not legally resign from the transition government, he officially remained Prime Minister, while Peres became the unofficial acting Prime Minister. Peres led the Alignment to its first ever electoral defeat, when Likud under Menachem Begin won sufficient seats to form a coalition that excluded the left. After only a month on top, Peres assumed the role of opposition leader. After turning back a comeback bid by Rabin in 1980 Peres led his party to another, narrower, loss in the 1981 elections. In 1984, the Alignment won more seats than any other party but failed to muster the majority of 61 mandates needed to form a left-wing coalition. Alignment and Likud agreed to an unusual "rotation" arrangement in which Peres would serve as Prime Minister and the Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir would be Foreign Minister. A highlight of this time in office was a trip to Morocco to confer with King Hassan II.

After two years, Peres and Shamir traded places. In 1986 he became foreign minister. In 1988, the Alignment led by Peres suffered another narrow defeat. He agreed to renew the coalition with the Likud, this time conceding the premiership to Shamir for the entire term. In the national unity government of 1988–90, Peres served as Vice Premier and Minister of Finance. He and the Alignment finally left the government in 1990, after "the dirty trick" – a failed bid to form a narrow government based on a coalition of the Alignment, small leftist factions and ultra-orthodox parties.

From 1990, Peres led the opposition in the Knesset, until, in early 1992, he was defeated in the first primary elections of the new Israeli Labor Party (which had been formed by the consolidation of the Alignment into a single unitary party) by Yitzhak Rabin, whom he had replaced fifteen years earlier. Peres remained active in politics, however, serving as Rabin's foreign minister from 1992. Secret negotiations with Yasser Arafat's PLO organization led to the Oslo Accords, which won Peres, Rabin and Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize. After Rabin's assassination in 1995, Peres served as Acting Prime Minister and Acting Defense Minister for seven months until the 1996 elections, during which he attempted to maintain the momentum of the peace process.^[20]

During his term, Peres promoted the use of the Internet in Israel and created the first website of an Israeli prime minister. However, he was narrowly defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu in the first direct elections for Prime Minister in 1996. In 1997 he did not seek re-election as Labor Party leader and was replaced by Ehud Barak. Barak rebuffed Peres's attempt to secure the position of party president and upon forming a government in 1999 appointed Peres to the minor post of Minister of Regional Co-operation. Peres played little role in the Barak government.^{[citation needed]}

Shimon Peres addressing a gathering of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem (2010)

In 2000 Peres ran for a seven-year term as Israel's President, a ceremonial head of state position, which usually authorizes the selection of Prime Minister. Had he won, as was expected, he would have been the first ex-Prime Minister to be elected President. He lost however, to Likud candidate Moshe Katsav.

Following Ehud Barak's defeat by Ariel Sharon in the 2001 direct election for Prime Minister, Peres made yet another comeback. He led Labor into a national unity government with Sharon's Likud and secured the post of Foreign Minister. The formal leadership of the party passed to Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, and in 2002 to Haifa mayor, Amram Mitzna. Peres was much criticized on the left for clinging to his position as Foreign Minister in a government that was not seen as advancing the peace process, despite his own dovish stance. He left office only when Labor resigned in advance of the 2003 elections. After the party under the leadership of Mitzna suffered a crushing defeat, Peres again emerged as interim leader. He led the party into coalition with Sharon once more at the end of 2004 when the latter's support of "disengagement" from Gaza presented a diplomatic program Labor could support.

Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (2009)

Peres won the chairmanship of the Labor Party in 2005, in advance of the 2006 elections. As party leader, Peres favored pushing off the elections for as long as possible. He claimed that an early election would jeopardize both the September 2005 Gaza withdrawal plan and the standing of the party in a national unity government with Sharon. However, the majority pushed for an earlier date, as younger members of the party, among them Ophir Pines-Paz and Isaac Herzog, overtook established leaders like Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Haim Ramon, in the party ballot to divide up government portfolios. Peres continually led in the polls, defying predictions that rivals would overtake him. Peres lost the leadership election with 40% to Peretz's 42.4%.^[21]

“	Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently. I prefer to live as an optimist.	”
—Shimon Peres, 2005[22]

On 30 November 2005 Peres announced that he was leaving the Labor Party to support Ariel Sharon and his new Kadima party. In the immediate aftermath of Sharon's debilitating stroke there was speculation that Peres might take over as leader of the party but most senior Kadima leaders, however, were former members of Likud and indicated their support for Ehud Olmert as Sharon's successor.^[23]

Labor reportedly tried to woo Peres back to the fold.^[24] Peres announced, however, that he supported Olmert and would remain with Kadima. Peres had previously announced his intention not to run in the March elections. Following Kadima's win in the election, Peres was given the role of Vice Prime Minister and Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy.

Presidency

Main article: Presidency of Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres in December 2007 (audio)

On 13 June 2007, Peres was elected President of the State of Israel by the Knesset. 58 of 120 members of the Knesset voted for him in the first round (whereas 38 voted for Reuven Rivlin, and 21 for Colette Avital). His opponents then backed Peres in the second round and 86 members of the Knesset voted in his favor,^[25] while 23 objected. He resigned from his role as a Member of the Knesset the same day, having been a member since November 1959 (except for a three month period in early 2006), the longest serving in Israeli political history. Peres was sworn in as President on 15 July 2007.^[5]

Shimon Peres meeting with Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

Shimon Peres and the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim, meet in Brasília.

In November 2008, Peres received an honorary knighthood, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George from Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in London.^[26]

Political views

Peres was once considered a "hawk".^[27] He was a protégé of Ben-Gurion and Dayan and an early supporter of the West Bank settlers during the 1970s. However, after becoming the leader of his party his stance evolved. More recently he has been seen as a dove, and a strong supporter of peace through economic cooperation. While still opposed, like all mainstream Israeli leaders in the 1970s and early 1980s, to talks with the PLO, he distanced himself from settlers and spoke of the need for "territorial compromise" over the West Bank and Gaza. For a time he hoped that King Hussein of Jordan could be Israel's Arab negotiating partner rather than Yasser Arafat. Peres met secretly with Hussein in London in 1987 and reached a framework agreement with him, but this was rejected by Israel's then Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir. Shortly afterward the First Intifada erupted, and whatever plausibility King Hussein had as a potential Israeli partner in resolving the fate of the West Bank evaporated. Subsequently, Peres gradually moved closer to support for talks with the PLO, although he avoided making an outright commitment to this policy until 1993.

Peres was perhaps more closely associated with the Oslo Accords than any other Israeli politician (Rabin included) with the possible exception of his own protégé, Yossi Beilin. He has remained an adamant supporter of the Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority since their inception despite the First Intifada and the al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada). However, Peres supported Ariel Sharon's military policy of operating the Israeli Defence Forces to thwart suicide bombings.

Peres with Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem, 2007

Peres' foreign policy outlook is markedly realist. To placate Turkey,^{[citation needed]} Peres allegedly downplayed the Armenian genocide.^[28] Peres stated: "We reject attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred. It is a tragedy what the Armenians went through but not a genocide."^[29][30][31] Although Peres himself did not retract the statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry later issued a cable to its missions which stated that the "The minister absolutely did not say, as the Turkish news agency alleged, “What the Armenians underwent was a tragedy, not a genocide"".^[28] However, according to Armenian news agencies, the statement released by the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles did not include any mention that Peres hadn't said that the events were not genocide.^[28]

On the issue of the nuclear program of Iran and the existential threat this poses for Israel, Peres stated, "I am not in favor of a military attack on Iran, but we must quickly and decisively establish a strong, aggressive coalition of nations that will impose painful economic sanctions on Iran", adding "Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear weapons should keep the entire world from sleeping soundly." In the same speech, Peres compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his call to "wipe Israel off the map" to the genocidal threats to European Jewry made by Adolf Hitler in the years prior to the Holocaust.^[32] In an interview with Army Radio on 8 May 2006 he remarked that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map".^[33] Peres is a proponent of Middle East economic integration.^[34]

Family

In May 1945, Peres married Sonya Gelman, whom he had met in the Ben Shemen Youth Village, where her father served as a carpentry teacher. The couple married after Sonya finished her military service as a truck driver in the British Army during World War II. Through the years Sonya chose to stay away from the media and keep her privacy and the privacy of her family, despite her husband's extensive political career. With the election of Peres for president, Sonya Peres, who had not wanted her husband to accept the position, announced that she would stay in the couple's apartment in Tel Aviv and not join her husband in Jerusalem. The couple thereafter lived separately.^[35] She died on 20 January 2011, aged 87, from heart failure at her apartment in Tel Aviv.

Shimon and Sonya Peres had three children:

• A daughter, Dr. Zvia ("Tsiki") Valdan, a linguist and professor at Beit Berl Academic College;
• An elder son, Yoni, director of Village Veterinary Center, a veterinary hospital on the campus of Kfar Hayarok Agricultural School near Tel Aviv. He specializes in the treatment of guide dogs;
• A younger son, Nehemia ("Chemi"), Co-founder/Managing General Partner of Pitango Venture Capital, one of Israel's largest venture capital funds.^[36] Chemi Peres is a former helicopter pilot in the IAF.

Peres is the first cousin of American movie star Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske, 1924).

Books

Shimon Peres is the author of 11 books, including:

• The Next Step (1965)
• David's Sling (1970) (ISBN 0-297-00083-7)
• And Now Tomorrow (1978)
• From These Men: seven founders of the State of Israel (1979) (ISBN 0-671-61016-3)
• Entebbe Diary (1991) (ISBN 965-248-111-4)
• The New Middle East (1993) (ISBN 0-8050-3323-8)
• Battling for Peace: a memoir (1995) (ISBN 0-679-43617-0)
• For the Future of Israel (1998) (ISBN 0-8018-5928-X)
• The Imaginary Voyage: With Theodor Herzl in Israel (1999) (ISBN 1-55970-468-3)

See also

	Israel portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal

• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

References

1. ^ Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2. ^ Amiram Barkat. "Presidency rounds off 66-year career". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/870789.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Tore Frangsmyr, ed. (1995). "Shimon Peres, The Nobel Peace Prize 1994". The Nobel Foundation. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1994/peres-bio.html. 
4. ^ "Peres elected President". The Jerusalem Post. 12 June 2007. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181570258432&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 13 June 2007. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Jim Teeple, "Shimon Peres Sworn In as Israel's President", VOA News, 15 July 2007.
6. ^ "Shimon Peres". The Knesset's internet site. http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=104. Retrieved 28 August 2008. 
7. ^ "Shimon Peres". Prime Minister of Israel's internet site. http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/History/FormerPrimeMinister/ShimonPeres.htm. Retrieved 28 August 2008. 
8. ^ Location of Wiszniew on the map of the Second Polish Republic in the years 1921–1939, www.jewishinstitute.org.pl
9. ^ "Knesset Member, Shimon Peres". Knesset. http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=104. Retrieved 13 February 2008. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Shimon Peres Biography". Academy of Achievement. 13 February 2008. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/per0bio-1. 
11. ^ "Peres: Not such a bad record after all". The Jerusalem Post. 12 November 2005. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131367066952&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 31 May 2007. 
12. ^ Hitchens, Christopher (11 May 2009). "President of Which Israel?". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/2218002. Retrieved 11 May 2009. 
13. ^ Judy L. Beckham (2 August 2003). "Shimon Peres, 1994 Nobel Peace Prize". Israel-Times. http://www.israel-times.com/news/2003/08/shimon-peres-1994-nobel-peace-prize-1869. 
14. ^ "Peres to German MPs: Hunt down remaining Nazi war criminals". Haaretz. 27 January 2010. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1145452.html. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
15. ^ Address by Peres to German Bundestag
16. ^ "Sonia Peres regains consciousness". Ynetnews. 25 May 2007. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3404483,00.html. Retrieved 25 May 2007. 
17. ^ "Sonia Peres, wife of President Shimon Peres, dies at 87". Haaretz. 20 January 2011. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/sonia-peres-wife-of-president-shimon-peres-dies-at-87-1.338122. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
18. ^ גיא בניוביץ' (20 June 1995). "הישראלי מספר 1: יצחק רבין – תרבות ובידור". Ynet. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3083171,00.html. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
19. ^ Ziv, Guy. "Shimon Peres and the French-Israeli Alliance, 1954–9". Journal of Contemporary History 45 (2): 406–429. doi:10.1177/0022009409356915. 
20. ^ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.com/jsource/biograhphy/peres.html
21. ^ "Israel Labour head to meet Sharon". BBC News. 10 November 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4423676.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2007. 
22. ^ "Serving 60 Years to Life". Newsweek Europe. 12 December 2005. 
23. ^ Verter, Yossi (6 January 2006). "Under Peres, Kadima would win 42 seats; under Olmert – 40". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060113043619/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/667051.html. Retrieved 21 July 2007. 
24. ^ "Shimon Peres calls on his supporters to vote Kadima". Haaretz. 9 January 2006. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060113042519/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/667313.html. Retrieved 21 July 2007. 
25. ^ "Peres elected Israel's president". BBC News. 13 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6747517.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2007. 
26. ^ "Shimon Peres: State president, Nobel laureate and now – knight". Haaretz. 23 November 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039485.html. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
27. ^ "Shimon Peres: From Hawk to Dove". Vision.org. Winter 2000. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=591. Retrieved 13 June 2007. 
28. ^ ^{a b c} Yair, Auron (2003). "Chapter 5 – The Armenian Genocide’s Recognition by States: The Israeli Aspect". The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide (1st ed.). New Brunswick (U.S.A.): Transaction Publishers. pp. 127. ISBN 0-7658-0191-4. 
29. ^ "Peres stands accused over denial of 'meaningless' Armenian Holocaust", by Robert Fisk
30. ^ "Protest [against] Israeli foreign minister's remarks dismissing Armenian genocide as 'meaningless'"
31. ^ "Peres to Turks: 'Our stance on Armenian issue hasn't changed'"
32. ^ Pfeffer, Anshel. "Peres: 'Fight terror – reduce global dependence on oil'", Haaretz. 5 May 2008.
33. ^ "Peres says that Iran 'can also be wiped off the map'", Dominican Today. 8 May 2006
34. ^ Speech by Peres at Waterloo University, Canada
35. ^ Jerusalem Post article on Sonya Gelman
36. ^ "Not like other murderers", Haaretz, 5 November 2007

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shimon Peres

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Shimon Peres

• Official Israeli Presidency website
• Shimon Peres Knesset website
• Official channel on YouTube
• Peres Center for Peace
• Biography at the Encyclopædia Britannica
• Lecture at NobelPrize.org
• Shimon Peres biography at the Jewish Virtual Library
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Shimon Peres on Charlie Rose
• Column archive at The Guardian
• Shimon Peres collected news and commentary at Ha'aretz
• Shimon Peres collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
• Shimon Peres collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Shimon Peres in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Shimon Peres at the Notable Names Database
• BBC – Sharon seals new Israel coalition
• Peres's metaphysical propensity to lose by Matthew Wagner, published in the Jerusalem Post, 10 November 2005.
• Former Labor Leader Shimon Peres Heading For Sharon's new party – recorded Report from IsraCast.
• Shimon Peres speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations about the Israel/Lebanon conflict on 31 July 2006
• Shimon Peres speaks at Cornell University – "A Conversation with Shimon Peres"
• "Presidency rounds off 66-year career" by Amiram Barkat, Haaretz
• President Peres' address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, 24 September 2008
• Honorary doctorate of Law from King's College London

Party political offices
Preceded by Yitzhak Rabin	Leader of the Alignment 1977–1992	Succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin
	Leader of the Labor Party 1995–1996	Succeeded by Ehud Barak
Preceded by Amram Mitzna	Leader of the Labor Party 2003–2005	Succeeded by Amir Peretz
Political offices
Preceded by Yitzhak Rabin	Prime Minister of Israel Acting 1977	Succeeded by Menachem Begin
Preceded by Yitzhak Shamir	Prime Minister of Israel 1984–1986	Succeeded by Yitzhak Shamir
Preceded by Yitzhak Rabin	Prime Minister of Israel 1995–1996	Succeeded by Benjamin Netanyahu
Preceded by Moshe Katsav	President of Israel 2007–present	Incumbent

v t e Laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize (1976–2000) Betty Williams / Mairead Corrigan (1976) Amnesty International (1977) Anwar Sadat / Menachem Begin (1978) Mother Teresa (1979) Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1981) Alva Myrdal / Alfonso García Robles (1982) Lech Wałęsa (1983) Desmond Tutu (1984) International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985) Elie Wiesel (1986) Óscar Arias (1987) UN Peacekeeping Forces (1988) Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama) (1989) Mikhail Gorbachev (1990) Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) Rigoberta Menchú (1992) Nelson Mandela / F.W. de Klerk (1993) Shimon Peres / Yitzhak Rabin / Yasser Arafat (1994) Pugwash Conferences / Joseph Rotblat (1995) Carlos Belo / José Ramos-Horta (1996) International Campaign to Ban Landmines / Jody Williams (1997) John Hume / David Trimble (1998) Médecins Sans Frontières (1999) Kim Dae-jung (2000) Complete list (1901–1925) (1926–1950) (1951–1975) (1976–2000) (2001–2025)

Links to related articles v t e Heads of State of Israel Chairmen of Provisional State Council David Ben-Gurion (1948) Chaim Weizmann (1948–1949) Presidents Chaim Weizmann (1949–1952) Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (1952–1963) Zalman Shazar (1963–1973) Ephraim Katzir (1973–1978) Yitzhak Navon (1978–1983) Chaim Herzog (1983–1993) Ezer Weizman (1993–2000) Moshe Katsav (2000–2007) Shimon Peres (2007–present) v t e Prime Ministers of Israel Ben-Gurion (1948–53) Sharett (1953–55) Ben-Gurion (1955–63) Eshkol (1963–69) Allon (acting) Meir (1969–74) Rabin (1974–77) Begin (1977–83) Shamir (1983–84) Peres (1984–86) Shamir (1986–92) Rabin (1992–95) Peres (1995–96) Netanyahu (1996–99) Barak (1999–2001) Sharon (2001–06) Olmert (2006–09) Netanyahu (2009–present) v t e Communications Ministers of Israel Nurock (1952) Burg (1952–58) Barzilai (1958–59) Mintz (1960–61) Sasson (1961–67) Yeshayahu (1967–69) Rimalt (1969–70) Peres (1970–74) Uzan (1974) Rabin (1974–75) Uzan (1975–77) Begin (1977) Amit (1977–78) Moda'i (1979–80) Aridor (1981) Tzipori (1981–84) Rubinstein (1984–87) Yaacobi (1987–90) Pinhasi (1990–92) Shahal (1992–93) Aloni (1993–96) Livnat (1996–99) Ben-Eliezer (1999–2001) Rivlin (2001–03) Sharon (2003) Olmert (2003–05) Itzik (2005) Hirschson (2006) Atias (2006–2009) Kahlon (2009–) v t e Finance Ministers of Israel Kaplan (1948–52) Eshkol (1952–63) Sapir (1963–68) Sherf (1968–69) Sapir (1969–74) Rabinovitz (1974–77) Erlich (1977–79) Hurvitz (1979–81) Aridor (1981–83) Cohen-Orgad (1983–84) Moda'i (1984–86) Nissim (1986–88) Peres (1988–90) Shamir (1990) Moda'i (1990–92) Shochat (1992–96) Meridor (1996–97) Netanyahu (1997) Ne'eman (1997–98) Netanyahu (1998–99) Sheetrit (1999) Shochat (1999–2001) Shalom (2001–03) Netanyahu (2003–05) Olmert (2005–06) Hirschson (2006–07) Bar-On (2007–09) Steinitz (2009–) v t e Foreign Affairs Ministers of Israel Sharett (1948–56) Meir (1956–66) Eban (1966–74) Allon (1974–77) Dayan (1977–79) Shamir (1980–86) Peres (1986–88) Arens (1988–90) Levy (1990–92) Peres (1992–95) Barak (1995–96) Levy (1996–98) Sharon (1998–99) Levy (1999–2000) Ben-Ami (2000–01) Peres (2001–02) Netanyahu (2002–03) Shalom (2003–06) Livni (2006–09) Lieberman (2009–) v t e Defense Ministers of Israel Ben-Gurion (1948–54) Lavon (1954–55) Ben-Gurion (1955–63) Eshkol (1963–67) Dayan (1967–74) Peres (1974–77) Weizman (1977–80) Begin (1980–81) Sharon (1981–83) Arens (1983–84) Rabin (1984–90) Shamir (1990) Arens (1990–92) Rabin (1992–95) Peres (1995–96) Mordechai (1996–99) Arens (1999) Barak (1999–2001) Ben-Eliezer (2001–02) Mofaz (2002–06) Peretz (2006–07) Barak (2007–) v t e Immigrant Absorption Ministers of Israel Shapira (1948–51) Allon (1968–69) Peres (1969–70) Peled (1970–74) Rosen (1974–77) Levy (1977–81) Abuhatzira (1981–82) Uzan (1982–84) Tzur (1984–88) Peretz (1988–92) Tzaban (1992–96) Edelstein (1996–99) Barak (1999) Tamir (1999–2001) Sharon (2001–03) Livni (2003–06) Boim (2006–07) Edri (2007–08) Aflalo (2008–09) Landver (2009–) v t e Internal Affairs Ministers of Israel Gruenbaum (1948–49) Shapira (1949–52) Rokach (1952–55) Shapira (1955) Bar-Yehuda (1955–59) Shapira (1959–70) Meir (1970) Burg (1970–74) Hillel (1974) Burg (1974–76) Hillel (1977) Burg (1977–84) Peres (1984) Peretz (1984–87) Shamir (1987–88) Deri (1988–93) Rabin (1993) Deri (1993) Rabin (1993–95) Baram (1995) Libai (1995) Barak (1995) Ramon (1995–96) Suissa (1996–99) Sharansky (1999–2000) Ramon (2000–01) Yishai (2001–02) Sharon (2002) Yishai (2002–03) Poraz (2003–04) Pines-Paz (2005) Sharon (2004–06) Bar-On (2006–07) Sheetrit (2007–09)) Yishai (from 2009) v t e Religious Services Ministers of Israel Maimon (1948–51) Shapira (1951–58) Toledano (1958–60) Warhaftig (1961–74) Rafael (1974) Zadok (1974) Rafael (1974–76) Zadok (1977) Abuhatzira (1977–81) Burg (1981–84) Peres (1984) Burg (1984–86) Hammer (1986–90) Shaki (1990–92) Rabin (1992–95) Sheetrit (1995–96) Netanyahu (1996) Suissa (1996–97) Netanyahu (1997) Hammer (1997–98) Netanyahu (1998) Levy (1998) Suissa (1998–99) Cohen (1999–2000) Beilin (2000–01) Ohana (2001–03) Sharon (2003) Cohen (2008–09) Margi (2009–) v t e Transportation Ministers of Israel Remez (1948–50) Yosef (1950–51) Pinkas (1951–52) Ben-Gurion (1952) Serlin (1952–53) Sapir (1953–55) Aran (1955) Carmel (1955–59) Ben-Aharon (1959–62) Bar-Yehuda (1962–65) Carmel (1965–69) Weizman (1969–70) Peres (1970–74) Yariv (1974) Yaacobi (1974–77) Begin (1977) Amit (1977–78) Landau (1979–81) Corfu (1981–88) Katsav (1988–92) Kessar (1992–96) Levy (1996–98) Yahalom (1998–99) Mordechai (1999–2000) Lipkin-Shahak (2000–01) Sneh (2001–02) Sharon (2002) Hanegbi (2002–03) Lieberman (2003–04) Sheetrit (2004–06) Mofaz (2006–09) Katz (2009–)

Authority control: PND: 119135086 | LCCN: n79138880 | VIAF: 78770379 | WorldCat

Persondata
Name	Peres, Shimon
Alternative names	Perske, Shimon (birth name); שִׁמְעוֹן פֶּרֶס (Hebrew)
Short description	Israeli politician
Date of birth	2 August 1923
Place of birth	Poland
Date of death
Place of death

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