Shimon Peres
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Labor
Born - Vishniev, Poland, 1923
Immigrated to Israel - 1934
Married, three children
Residence - Tel Aviv
Education - Advanced Administration
contact
Labor
Knesset Service
Elected to the Knesset - 1959
Member - Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee
Government Service
Deputy Minister of Defense - 1959-1965
Minister of Immigrant Absorption - 1969-1970
Minister of Transportation - 1970-1974
Minister of Communication - 1970-1974
Minister of Information - 1974
Minister of Defense - 1974-1977
Prime Minister - 1984-1986
Minister of Foreign Affairs - 1986-1988
Alternate Prime Minister - 1986-1990
Minister of Finance - 1988-1990
Minister of Foreign Affairs - 1992-1995
Minister of Defense - 1995-1996
Prime Minister - 1995-1996
Minister of Regional Cooperation - 1999-2001
Additional Information
Peres joined the Haganah in 1947 and was responsible for arms purchases. Upon the establishment of the State, Peres was appointed head of the Israeli navy at age 24. From 1953 to 1965, Peres worked his way up the ranks in Israel's defense ministry.
In 1965, together with David Ben Gurion, Peres left the Mapai Labor Party and helped form Rafi (Israel Workers List). Peres initiated the return of Rafi to Mapai in 1968, which helped establish the Israel Labor Party.
In 1978 Peres was elected Vice-President of the Socialist International.
In September 1984 the Labor and Likud parties formed a national unity government. Peres and Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir rotated the post of Prime Minister. Following the 1988 elections Peres served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the Likud-led national unity government. Peres was instrumental in ending Israel's hyperinflation during these years.
In 1992, after years of rivalry between the two, Peres lost the leadership of the Labor Party to Yitzhak Rabin. As Foreign Minister in Rabin's government, Peres was instrumental in advancing the peace process with the Palestinians. Along with Rabin and Yasser Arafat, Peres was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his efforts. Peres also promoted the contacts with Jordan, which culminated in the 1995 signing of the Israel-Jordan peace agreement.
After Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995, Peres served as Prime Minister until he was narrowly defeated in the 1996 elections by Benyamin Netanyahu of the Likud party.
Peres was proposed as the Labor Party's candidate for the office of Israel's President, but lost to Moshe Katzav in a Knesset ballot in 2000. Upon Ehud Barak's resignation announcement, Peres' candidacy was touted as the only alternative to Likud leader, Ariel Sharon. Peres failed to mount a third party candidacy, and efforts to have him replace Ehud Barak on the Labor party ballot were thwarted.