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Shimon PeresShimon Peres (born August 21, 1923), an Israeli politician, is the head of the Israeli Labour Party and served as 8th Prime Minister of Israel from 1984-1986 and 1995-1996 and Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel from 2001-2002, and became Vice Premier in a coalition under Ariel Sharon at the start of 2005. Early life Shimon Peres (original last name was Perske) was born in Vishniev, Poland (now in Belarus). As a child he moved to Tel Aviv, Israel with his family in 1934. He was educated in the Geula School in Tel Aviv and the agricultural school of Ben Shemen. In 1947, he was conscripted into the Haganah (predecessor of the Israeli Defense Forces) and was appointed by David Ben-Gurion to be responsible for personnel and arms purchases. In 1952, he was appointed Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Defense and in 1953 he became the Director General of the Ministry of Defense. He was involved in acquiring weapons for the young state of Israel. Peres' efforts went superbly well as he managed to acquire the advanced Dassault Mirage III French jet fighter and a nuclear reactor. Political career In 1959, he was elected to the Knesset, as a member of Mapai, the Israeli Labour Party. From 1959-1965 he served as Deputy Defense Minister until he was implicated in the Lavon affair with Moshe Dayan. Peres and Dayan left Mapai with David Ben Gurion to form a new party, Rafi which reconciled with Mapai in 1968 (without Ben Gurion) resulting in the formation of the Labour Alignment. In 1969, Peres was appointed Minister of Absorption and in 1970, he became the Minister of Transportation and Communications. In 1974, after a period as Information Minister, he was appointed Minister of Defense in the Yitzhak Rabin government. Shimon Peres is one of Israel's most senior politicians. Although he has never led the Labour Party to an election victory, Peres served twice as Prime Minister: once between 1984-1986 as part of rotation agreement with Likud's Yitzhak Shamir, and once between 1995-1996 after the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 1994 Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, for the Oslo Accords. Peres 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. However, Peres supports Ariel Sharon's military policy of operating the Israeli Defence Forces to thwart suicide bombings and weaken the integrity of Palestinian organizations. Often, Peres acts as the informal "explainer" of Israel (even when he is in the opposition) since he earned high prestige and respect among the international public opinion and diplomatic circles. Peres advocates Israel's security policy (military counter terror operations and the Israeli West Bank barrier) against international criticism and de-legitimation efforts from pro-Palestinian circles. Family life Shimon Peres is married to Sonya (nee Gelman), and has a daughter, Tzvia (Tziki) Walden-Peres, a linguist, and two sons, Yoni (born 1952) and Chemi, chairman of Pitango Venture Capital, one of Israel’s largest venture capital funds. Peres is the first cousin of actress Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske). Awards and interests He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 together with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin. Shimon Peres is interested in nanoelectronics. In 1997 he founded the Peres Center for Peace. Books He is the author of several books, including: - The Next Step (1965)
- David's Sling (1970) (ISBN 0297000837)
- And Now Tomorrow (1978)
- From These Men: seven founders of the State of Israel (1979) (ISBN 0671610163)
- Entebbe Diary (1991)
- Yoman Entebeh (1991} (ISBN 9652481114}
- The New Middle East (1993) (ISBN 0805033238)
- Battling for Peace: a memoir (1995) (ISBN 0679436170)
- For the Future of Israel (1998) (ISBN 080185928X)
- The Imaginary Voyage : With Theodor Herzl in Israel (1999} {ISBN 1559704683)
External links Peres, Shimon Peres, Shimon Peres, Shimon
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