Descrittore
Termine preferito
Peres, Shimon CercaDefinizione
Definition
Shimon Peres was an Israeli military leader and politician. Born in 1923 in Vishneva, Poland, he immigrated with his family to Palestine in 1934. In 1947 he joined the Haganah. After the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, David Ben Gurion selected him to be head of the Israeli navy. He rose through the political ranks to become the director-general of the defense ministry. During his tenure in this post, from 1953 through 1959, he increased spending on weapons, aeronautics, electronics, and nuclear research. He held various positions in the Israeli cabinet throughout the 1970s and was involved in the Entebbe Operation, negotiating agreements with Egypt, and developing the "Good Fence" program with Lebanon. He was head of the Labour Party and ran twice for prime minister, losing both times to Menachem Begin before winning in 1984. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 in a power-sharing arrangement with Yitzhak Shamir and the Likud party. During his first tenure as prime minister, he instituted economic reforms that reduced the inflation rate, energized relations with Morocco and other African nations, and strengthened ties with various European countries. He served as finance minster from 1988 to 1990. In July 1992, after winning the party elections, Yitzhak Rabin selected him to be Israel's foreign minister. As foreign minister, Peres negotiated a peace accord with Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). He shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 with Arafat and with Yitzhak Rabin. Shimon Peres became prime minister again in 1995-96 after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. After he lost the race for reelection as prime minister in 1996, he withdrew as head of the Labour Party but remained active in Israel's foreign affairs. (en-US)
Fonte
Britannica.com 2001. http://www.britannica.com (21 Jun. 2001).