The position became permanent on 8 March 1949, when the first government was formed. Ultimately Netanyahu failed to hold the government together, and early elections for both prime minister and the Knesset were called in 1999. The Prime Minister is the chief executive of the government and is the most powerful person in the nation. If the prime minister dies in office, the cabinet chooses an interim prime minister[5] to run the government until a new government is placed in power. However, he suffered a stroke in January 2006, in the midst of election season, leading Ehud Olmert to become acting prime minister in the weeks leading to the elections. He resigned in 1983 for health reasons, passing the reins of power to Yitzhak Shamir. Rabin later died in surgery at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Thus Netanyahu, despite his theoretical position of power, needed the support of the religious parties to form a viable government. However, because Likud only had 21 seats in the Knesset, Sharon had to form a national unity government. Prime ministers of Israel prime minister term *From 1986 to 1990, Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister of Israel in alliance with Shimon Peres. In the 2013 election, the Likud Yisrael Beiteinu alliance emerged as the largest faction. The position became permanent on 8 March 1949, when the first government was formed. The Prime Minister is responsible for handling all decisions, interacting with other nations, forming policies on behalf of the President along with the approval of the Knesset members. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks out against clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens as violence between Israel and Hamas continues. 5 Rabin was assassinated while in office. However, the new system again appeared to have failed; although Barak's One Israel alliance (an alliance of Labour, Gesher and Meimad) won more votes than any other party in the Knesset election, they garnered only 26 seats, the lowest ever by a winning party or alliance. Netanyahu, 71, has served as Israel's Prime Minister since 2009. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Aghion, is in Jerusalem. The President spoke today with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. According to Israeli law, if a prime minister is temporarily incapacitated rather than dies (as was the case following Ariel Sharon's stroke in early 2006), power is transferred to the acting prime minister, until the prime minister recovers (Ehud Olmert took over from Sharon), for up to 100 days. During the thirteenth Knesset (1992–1996) it was decided to hold a separate ballot for prime minister modeled after American presidential elections. 2 Eshkol died while in office. After his assassination on 4 November 1995, Peres took over as prime minister. Sharon continued as Prime Minister. Following Sharon's victory, it was decided to do away with separate elections for prime minister and return to the previous system. Unlike most prime ministers in parliamentary republics, the prime minister is both de jure and de facto chief executive. Barak needed to form a coalition with six smaller parties to form a government. After the 1988 election Likud was able to govern without the Alignment, and Yitzhak Shamir became Prime Minister again. Following an election, the president nominates a member of the Knesset to become prime minister after asking party leaders whom they support for the position. Peres made an abortive bid to form a left-wing government in 1990, but failed, leaving Shamir in power until 1992. He thus became Israel's third interim prime minister, only days before forming his own new government as the official Prime Minister of Israel. JOHN DICKERSON: I want to start with yesterday was the worst clash in this seven-day conflict. Sharon formed a new party, Kadima, which would go on to compete in the following elections of March 2006. David Ben-Gurion, leader of Mapai and head of the Jewish Agency, became Israel's first prime minister. Menachem Begin became the first right-wing prime minister when his Likud won the 1977 elections, and retained the post in the 1981 elections. Howeve… The prime minister challenged Bennett to back direct elections for prime minister and the Likud's proposal for running the Knesset until a government is formed, saying that Since 1974, the official residence of the prime minister is Beit Aghion, at the corner of Balfour and Smolenskin streets in Rehavia.[6]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says military campaign is continuing 'full-force' and will 'take time' By The Associated Press. Although the 1988 elections produced another national unity government, Shamir was able to take the role alone. Israel-Palestine conflict: Killing of Hamas officers ‘just the beginning’, warns prime minister Ireland must ask ‘hard questions’ regarding respect for international law, says Coveney If the prime minister is declared permanently incapacitated, or that period expires, the president of Israel oversees the process of assembling a new governing coalition, and in the meantime the acting prime minister or other incumbent minister is appointed by the cabinet to serve as interim prime minister. On 26 February 1969, Eshkol became the first prime minister to die in office. Ben-Gurion retained his role until late 1953, when he resigned to settle in the Kibbutz of Sde Boker. After he was re-elected as the Alignment's leader, he resigned as candidate for the upcoming elections on 7 April 1977, but legally remained Prime Minister until Begin's first government was formed. In the case of Sharon, elections were already due to occur within 100 days of the beginning of his coma; thus, the post-election coalition-building process pre-empted the emergency provisions for the selection of a new prime minister. 3 Rabin resigned and called for early elections in December 1976. Rivlin gave Netanyahu the first chance to form a coalition after 52 members of parliament endorsed him as prime minister last month. He resigned for a second time in 1963, breaking away from Mapai to form Rafi. An Israeli professor and former head of Israel's space security says that aliens are real and they already live here on Earth. The nominee has 42 days to put together a viable coalition. [4] However, in the Knesset election held at the same time, Labour won more votes than any other party (27%). The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה‎, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. Likud won 38 seats, the highest by a party for over a decade, and as party leader Sharon was duly appointed Prime Minister. ברוכים הבאים לערוץ היוטיוב הרשמי של ראש ממשלת ישראלWelcome to the official YouTube channel of the Prime Minister of Israel As a former finance minister in the Netanyahu-led government formed in 2013, Mr. Lapid instituted reforms meant to share the national burden more equally between mainstream Israelis and … However, towards the end of his term and largely as a result of the deep divisions within Likud over Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Sharon broke away from his party to form Kadima, managing to maintain his position as prime minister and also becoming the first prime minister not to be a member of either Labour or Likud (or their predecessors). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will ramp up airstrikes on Gaza after two Israeli women were killed by a barrage of rocket attacks from suspected Hamas militants in Gaza. He became the first prime minister to head the country under the banner of two parties when Mapai formed the Alignment with Ahdut HaAvoda in 1965. This system was instituted in part because the Israeli electoral system makes it all but impossible for one party to win a majority. Basic Law: The Government (2001) Sections 7a, 13d. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a Jerusalem court for his corruption trial. Those included the suicide of Housing Minister Avraham Ofer after police began investigating allegations that he had used party funds illegally, and the affair involving Asher Yadlin (the governor-designate of the Bank of Israel), who was sentenced to five years in prison for having accepted bribes. Although five candidates intended to run, the three representing minor parties (Benny Begin of Herut – The National Movement, Azmi Bishara of Balad and Yitzhak Mordechai of the Centre Party) dropped out before election day, and Ehud Barak beat Netanyahu in the election. The current prime minister is Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, the ninth person to hold the position (excluding caretakers). This first Alignment ended when Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi merged to form the Labor Party on 23 January 1968. The trial is viewed by many as a test of the nation’s judicial system. Shimon Peres served as Acting Prime Minister until 22 November 1995. With this, his cabinet became an interim government, and he was the "Interim" Prime Minister until the establishment of a new governing coalition (he was officially the Prime Minister, however, the government under him was an interim government, in this case).[3]. However, the president's powers are largely ceremonial; the prime minister holds the executive power. [2], 8 Olmert officially resigned on 21 September 2008. 1 For the 1965 elections, Mapai allied with Ahdut HaAvoda to form the Labor Alignment, later renamed Alignment. At least 28 Palestinians have been killed. However, the government was not brought down, and only elections for prime minister were necessary. Nevertheless, Olmert was appointed interim prime minister on 16 April 2006, after the elections, just days before he formed a government on 4 May 2006, becoming the official prime minister. Ben-Gurion retained his role until late 1953, when he resigned to settle in the Kibbutz of Sde Boker. Rabin became prime minister for the second time when he led Labour to victory in the 1992 elections. The office of Prime Minister came into existence on 14 May 1948, the date of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, when the provisional government was created. However his successor Tzipi Livni was unable to form a coalition government. Meir resigned in 1974 after the Agranat Commission published its findings on the Yom Kippur War, even though it had absolved her of blame. After the passage of 100 days upon which the Prime Minister does not resume his duties, the Prime Minister will be deemed permanently unable to exercise his office." In the election in the following year, while Kadima won the most seats, it was the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who was given the task of forming a government. This is because the Basic Laws of Israel explicitly vest executive power in the government, of which the prime minister is the leader. 4 After the 1984 elections, Likud and the Alignment reached a coalition agreement by which the role of Prime Minister would be rotated mid-term between them. 6 On 21 November 2005, Prime Minister Sharon, along with several other ministers and MKs, split from Likud over the issue of disengagement from the Gaza Strip and negotiations over the final status of the West Bank. President Biden spoke today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shimon Peres of the Alignment served as Prime Minister for the first two years, and then the role was passed to Yitzhak Shamir. CNN's Hadas Gold reports. David Ben-Gurion (1st time) 1948–53 Moshe Sharett: 1953–55 David Ben-Gurion (2nd time) 1955–63 Levi Eshkol: 1963–69 Golda Meir: 1969–74 May 16, 2021, 2:30 PM • 1 min read. It is an office that Netanyahu has filled longer than any other Israeli, serving 15 years as prime minister. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is fatally shot after attending a peace rally held in Tel Aviv’s Kings Square in Israel. Aside from the position of Acting Prime Minister, there are also vice prime ministers and deputy prime ministers. However, Ben-Gurion returned in a little under two years to reclaim his position. In 1996, when the first such election took place, the outcome was a surprise win for Benjamin Netanyahu after election polls predicted that Peres was the winner. After the 1984 elections had proved inconclusive with neither the Alignment nor Likud able to form a government, a national unity government was formed with a rotating prime ministership – Shimon Peres took the first two years, and was replaced by Shamir midway through the Knesset term. The prime ministers are listed in order of office. David Ben-Gurion, Zionist statesman and political leader, the first prime minister (1948–53, 1955–63) and defense minister (1948–53; 1955–63) of Israel. Additionally, one person, Yigal Allon, has served solely as an interim prime minister. In early 2001, Barak resigned following the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada. He was temporarily replaced by Yigal Allon, whose stint lasted less than a month, as the party persuaded Golda Meir to return to political life and become prime minister in March 1969. 7 As the result of Ariel Sharon suffering a severe stroke on 4 January 2006, and being put under general anaesthetic, Ehud Olmert served as the Acting Prime Minister (Hebrew: ממלא מקום ראש הממשלה בפועל‎) from 4 January[1] to 14 April, according to Basic Law: The Government: "Should the Prime Minister be temporarily unable to discharge his duties, his place will be filled by the Acting Prime Minister. During his term of office, the prime minister lives in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesday for direct polls to choose Israel's next leader, as he struggles to form a coalition following four general elections in less than two years. 9 The following parties were members of a government during only part of its term: This is a graphical lifespan timeline of prime ministers of Israel. Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old Israeli Jew, fervent in his faith and his nationalism, stepped out of the shadows and calmly shot the prime minister twice in quick succession. The Israeli lawmaker has been tasked with forming a coalition government after Netanyahu failed to do so, but crossing political divides may mean giving up prime minister ambitions. He was able to do so, thus beginning his second term as Prime Minister of Israel. Basic Law: the Government 2001, section 16b In Sharon's case, this occurred on 14 April 2006, upon which Olmert became Interim Prime Minister for the remainder of the 30th government, finally becoming full Prime Minister on the formation of the 31st government.