Shimon Peres has been closely associated with the development of defense capabilities. In the late forties he joined the Haganah and was assigned responsibility for manpower and arms. During and after the War of Independence ,
he served as head of the naval services, and later headed the defense
ministry's delegation to the US. In 1952 he joined the Ministry of
Defense and a year later - at the age of 29 - was appointed
Director-General, a position he held until 1959.
In 1959 Peres was elected a Member of Knesset and served until his
election as President in June 2007. From 1959 to 1965 he served as
Deputy Minister of Defense. Among his achievements were the
establishment of the military and aviation industries and the promotion
of strategic ties with France - a "special relationship" that culminated
in strategic cooperation during the 1956 Sinai Campaign, which he masterminded. He was also responsible for Israel's nuclear program.
Shimon Peres distinguished himself as a political figure in internal politics as well. In 1965 he left the ruling Mapai party together with Ben-Gurion and became Secretary-General of Rafi;
three years later, he was instrumental in reuniting these labor
factions. In 1969 Peres was appointed Minister of Immigrants Absorption;
from 1970 to 1974 he served as Minister of Transportation and
Communications; and during 1974 he was Minister of Information. For
three years following the 1973 Yom Kippur War,
Peres again played a central role in Israel's security as Minister of
Defense. He revitalized and strengthened the IDF and played an important
role in the disengagement negotiations that led to the 1975 Interim
Agreement with Egypt. He was behind the 1976 Entebbe rescue operation
and authored the "Good Fence" concept, promoting positive relations with
residents of southern Lebanon.
Peres briefly served as Acting Prime Minister following the resignation of Prime Minister Rabin
in 1977. Following the defeat of the Labor party in the 1977 general
elections - after thirty years of political hegemony - Shimon Peres was
elected party chairman, a post he held until 1992. During this period he
was also elected Vice President of the Socialist International.
Shimon Peres served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister. His
first tenure was from 1984 to 1986 in the National Unity government,
based on a rotation arrangement with Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir.
From 1986 to 1988, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and from November 1988 until the dissolution of the
National Unity Government in 1990 - as Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance. He focused his energies on the failing economy and
on the complex situation resulting from the 1982 war in Lebanon. He
succeeded in enlisting the support of the Histadrut for the difficult
steps needed to reduce the annual inflation rate from 400% to 16%. Peres
was also instrumental in the withdrawal of troops from Lebanon and the
establishment of a narrow security zone in southern Lebanon.
After the return to power of the Labor party as a result of the 1992
elections, Shimon Peres was once again appointed Minister of Foreign
Affairs. He initiated and conducted the negotiations that led to the
signing of the Declaration of Principles with the PLO in September 1993 - which won him the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize,
together with Rabin and Arafat. Further negotiations with the
Palestinians brought about Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and some areas
of Judea and Samaria and the establishment of limited Palestinian
autonomy, as decided in the Interim Agreement . In October 1994, the Treaty of Peace with Jordan
was signed. Peres subsequently strove to promote relations with
additional Arab countries in North Africa and the Persian Gulf - part of
his vision of a "New Middle East."
Shimon Peres' second term as Prime Minister came in the wake of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
on November 4, 1995. The Labor Party chose Peres as Rabin's successor,
and the Knesset confirmed the decision with a vote of confidence,
supported by both coalition and opposition members.
Peres served as Prime Minister for seven months, until the general
elections held in May 1996. During this trying period, Peres strove to
maintain the momentum in the peace process, despite a wave of terrorist
attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers against Israeli civilians.
Shimon Peres continued to serve as chairman of the Labor Party for a
year after the party's election defeat. In June 1997, former
Chief-of-Staff and Labor Member of Knesset Ehud Barak was elected
chairman of the Labor Party.
In October 1997 Shimon Peres created the the Peres Center for Peace with the aim of advancing Arab-Israeli joint ventures.
Peres served as Minister of Regional Cooperation from July 1999 until
March 2001, and in March 2001 was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Deputy Prime Minister in the National Unity government headed by
Ariel Sharon, serving until October 2002 when he resigned together with
the other Labor ministers. Peres served as Vice Premier to Ariel Sharon
from January-November 2005, when Labor resigned from the government.
Prior to the elections to the 17th Knesset, Peres left the Labor
Party to join the newly founded Kadima. He served as Vice Premier,
Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galillee from May 2006
until June 2007.
In October 1997 Peres created the the Peres Center for Peace with the
aim of advancing Arab-Israeli joint ventures. Shimon Peres has authored
the following books:
In Between Hatred and Neighborhood (Hebrew - 1961)
The Next Phase (1965)
David’s Sling (1970)
Tomorrow Is Now (1978)
Go With The Men - 7 Portraits (1979)
La Force de Vaincre (French - 1981)
Entebbe Diary (1991)
The New Middle East (1993)
Reading Diary - Letter to Authors (1994)
Battling For Peace (1995)
For the Future of Israel (1997)
New Genesis (1998)
Le Voyage Imaginaire (1998)
A Time for War, A Time for Peace
Shimon Peres passed away on 28 September 2016. He is survived by
three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.