Shimon Peres was the ninth President of Israel, served as Prime Minister of Israel twice, and won a noble peace prize for negotiating the Oslo Accords with Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: FEBRUARY 8, 2019 06:41SHIMON PERES smiles during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2013.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Shimon Peres was the ninth President of Israel, served as Prime Minister of Israel twice, and won a noble peace prize for negotiating the Oslo Accords with Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat.From a tender age, Shimon Peres was known for his eloquent brilliance and David Ben Gurion, Israel’s founding father, was his mentor.During his political career, he held several diplomatic and military positions, especially during the 1942 Arab-Israeli war. Before becoming Prime Minister in 1988, he worked under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as acting Prime Minister.Peres spoke many languages, such as Hebrew, Russian, English, Yiddish, among others. In his spare time, he wrote poems and songs.Here are more details about his: -Early Life and Career -Political Career -Oslo Accords -Personal Life-Death -Quotes Early Life and Career Shimon Peres was born on August 2, 1923, in Weislawa, Poland. Yitzhak and Sara Perski are the late parents of Shimon Peres. Yitzhak died at the age of 66 while Sara died at the age of 64. Because his family was committed to Zionism and anti-semitic violence escalated in central Europe, the family migrated to British control Palestine.
Education:
Shimon gave credit to his grandfather, Chaim Volozhin, whom he said taught him Talmud.
He attended Balfour Elementary and High School and Geula Gymnasium (High School for Commerce) in Tel Aviv.
At the age of 15, he attended the Ben Shemen Youth Village and Agricultural Boarding School in Central Israel.
He further studied English, Economics, and Philosophy at the New School and New York University.
At Harvard University he studied Advanced Management.
Early Career:
Due to training in Agriculture, he worked as a farmer and a shepherd when he returned to Alumot in 1944.
He was secretary for a labor Zionist Youth Movement called the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed. He took over the movement a couple years later and won the majority. It was then that David Ben Gurion became his political mentor.
In 1952 he became Deputy Director General in the Ministry of Defense and in 1953 he moved up to the rank of Director General at age 29, which made him the youngest to hold such a position.
In the 1959 election, Shimon Peres, who was a member of the Mapai political party, was elected to the Knesset. He occupied the position of Deputy Defense Minister from that year until 1965 when he left to form the Rafi party with David Ben Gurion.
He had several appointments between 1969 and 1974, such as Minister of Immigration, helping with occupied territories. He was also appointed Minister of Defense in the Yitzhak Rabin Government. During this time, Peres challenged Rabin for the chairmanship but lost in the 1977 elections.
In the said year, 1977, Yitzhak Rabin removed himself from office because his wife was involved in a foreign currency scandal. Rabin could not legally resign as Prime Minister, so he still held the official post, while Shimon Peres held the unofficial post of Prime Minister.
In 1984, Peres formed an alliance with Yitzhak Shamir, and he served as Prime Minister for two years.
From 1992 Peres served as Rabin’s Foreign Minister and within two years he achieved his two greatest diplomatic successes, which were the Oslo Accords and the Jordan Peace Treaty.
For his hard work in achieving the Oslo Accords, he shared a Noble Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, who was head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
In 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated and Shimon Peres took over the position of Prime Minister.
In 1996 he lost the re-election and resigned in 1997 to form the labor party.
In 2003 he chaired the labor once again and lost in 2005.
Shimon Peres surprised everyone when he gave the head of the Kadima Party, Ariel Sharon, his full support.
Finally, in 2007, at age 84, Peres was elected as President of Israel and completed his presidency in 2014.
Shimon Peres was married to Sonya Gelman in May 1945. She died at the age of 87 from heart failure.
The couple had three children.
He was poetry and songwriter.
He was an avid user of social media.
His DeathShimon Peres died on September 28, 2016, at the age of 93, from a severe stroke to the brain. His funeral was held at Mount Hertz in Jerusalem on September 30, 2016.Shimon Peres QuotesThe world has lost an icon, but his words are left behind to inspire and motivate.Here are three of Shimon Peres Quotes:
“You're as young as your dreams, not as old as your calendar.”
“You can kill a thousand; you can bring an end to life; you cannot kill an idea.”
“If a problem has no solution, it may not be a problem, but a fact - not to be solved, but to be coped with over time.”
