Shimon Peres

Aug 2, 1923: Born Szymon Perski in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus)

1934: Emigrates with family at age 11 to British- administered Palestine

1945: Peres marries Sonya Gelman. They have three children

1947: Joins Haganah – Zionist military organization – under direction of political
mentor David Ben-Gurion

1948: Israel gains independence – Prime Minister Ben-Gurion appoints Peres, aged 24, head of Israel’s navy

1953: Director general of defence ministry and later deputy defence minister (1959–65). Instrumental role in planning 1956 Sinai Campaign and in developing Israel’s military, including nuclear programme

1959: First elected to Knesset – parliamentary career lasts 48 years

1974: As defence minister in government of Yitzhak Rabin, Peres supervises disengagement of Israeli forces on Egyptian front following 1973 Yom Kippur War

1977: Peres becomes head of Labour party, but is defeated in that year’s election by Likud leader Menachem Begin, and again in 1981

1984: Likud-Labour national unity government formed following indecisive election – Peres shares role of prime minister with Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir

1985: Under moderate leadership of Peres, Israel withdraws forces from controversial incursion into Lebanon

1988: Labour and Likud form new coalition – Peres is finance minister

1990: Resigns after failing to carry vote of no-confidence against Likud-led government

1992: Rabin leads Labour to victory. As foreign minister, Peres starts negotiations which lead to Israel’s first interim peace accord with Palestinians

1994: Peres, Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating Oslo accords

Nov 4, 1995: Yitzhak Rabin assassinated – Peres takes over as prime minister

1996: Narrowly defeated in bid for reelection by Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu

1997: Peres replaced by Ehud Barak as leader of Labour Party

2001: Barak defeated in general election. At height of Second Intifada, Peres
takes Labour into national unity government with Ariel Sharon’s Likud

2005: Leaves Labour to join new centrist Kadima party alongside old adversary Sharon

Jun 2007: Elected to largely ceremonial post of Israeli president

Nov: Addresses Turkish parliament – first Israeli president to speak before
legislature of Muslim nation

2012: Receives U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama

2014: Leaves office as president

Sep 14, 2016: Shimon Peres transferred to intensive care after suffering serious stroke

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images