Prime Minister of Israel

The prime minister heads Israel’s Government, which consists of the prime minister and other ministers. Israel’s president is head of state, but operational executive power lies with the prime minister and Government.[4] The Knesset is a 120-member unicameral parliament, and the Government holds office by virtue of its confidence.[2]

Israel has no single written constitution. Its Basic Laws regulate fundamental institutions including the Government, legislature, judiciary, and electoral system.[4] Basic Law: The Government makes the Government collectively responsible to the Knesset and makes each minister responsible to the prime minister for assigned tasks.[2]

Israel’s proportional, multiparty system has always required coalition government because no party has won 61 Knesset seats in an election.[4] A prime minister therefore depends not only on formal executive authority but also on maintaining sufficient parliamentary support. Knesset terms are normally four years, although early dissolution and elections are frequent.[4]

The office began with the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion became the first prime minister.[5][3] Ben-Gurion served from 1948 to 1954 and again from 1955 to 1963, and long held the record for cumulative service before Benjamin Netanyahu surpassed him.[3]

From Israel’s founding through the May 1977 election, successive coalition governments were led by the Labor alignment or its constituent parties. Likud then came to power and Menachem Begin became prime minister.[5] In 1984, Labor and Likud formed a national-unity government that rotated the premiership midway through a 50-month term: Shimon Peres served first and Yitzhak Shamir succeeded him in October 1986.[5]

The succession of officeholders has included Ben-Gurion; Moshe Sharett; Levi Eshkol; Golda Meir; Yitzhak Rabin; Begin; Shamir; Peres; Netanyahu; Ehud Barak; Ariel Sharon; Ehud Olmert; Naftali Bennett; and Yair Lapid. Yigal Allon served for about a month as interim prime minister after Eshkol’s death in 1969, before Meir took office.[3]

Several transitions followed crises or personal tragedy. Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995, after which Peres became prime minister.[5] Sharon’s term ended after a massive stroke left him comatose in January 2006, and Olmert initially assumed the premiership on an interim basis.[3]

Bennett became prime minister in 2021 under a rotation agreement with Lapid. After their coalition broke up, Lapid became prime minister in 2022. Netanyahu returned following the November 2022 election, and his new government was inaugurated on December 29, 2022.[3][6]

Between May 1996 and March 2001, Israelis directly elected the prime minister instead of relying solely on Knesset-based government formation.[5] The first direct election, held on May 29, 1996, was narrowly won by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu.[5]

The experiment produced three direct prime-ministerial elections. Netanyahu won the first in 1996, Ehud Barak won the second in 1999, and Ariel Sharon won the third in 2001.[3] The Knesset rescinded the direct-election legislation in March 2001, restoring the parliamentary system in which the prime minister emerges through government formation in the Knesset.[5]

Basic Law: The Government is the principal legal instrument regulating the office. The current English translation notes that the law was originally adopted in 2001 and incorporates amendments through August 15, 2023.[2] It requires the prime minister—and, in a rotation government, the alternate prime minister—to be a Member of the Knesset.[2]

The Government may add a minister on the prime minister’s proposal, with Knesset approval. The prime minister may remove a minister after notifying the Government; the minister’s service ends 48 hours after receipt of the removal letter unless the prime minister retracts it earlier.[2]

The prime minister may resign by submitting a written resignation to the president after notifying the Government. That resignation is legally equivalent to the resignation of the entire Government.[2] If the prime minister determines that a Knesset majority opposes the Government and thereby prevents its effective activity, the prime minister may dissolve the Knesset by order with the president’s consent.[2]

The Basic Law also establishes a constructive vote of no confidence. The Knesset may replace a government through a majority resolution expressing confidence in another government that has announced its policy guidelines, composition, and allocation of ministerial functions.[2]

Continuity provisions address absence and incapacity. When the prime minister is abroad, a substitute convenes and conducts Government meetings. If the prime minister is temporarily unable to perform the duties, the substitute assumes them; after 100 consecutive days without the prime minister’s return, the incapacity becomes permanent. If no substitute can serve, the Government designates another minister who is a Knesset member.[2]

The direct-election version of Basic Law: The Government was described at the time as the most comprehensive law the Knesset had adopted to change Israel’s governmental system. It also strengthened Knesset powers concerning emergency regulations, appearances by ministers before committees, subsidiary legislation, and dismissal procedures.[7] The direct-election provisions were later repealed.[5]

When a new government must be formed, the president consults representatives of the parliamentary groups and assigns the task to a willing Member of the Knesset.[2] The choice is not automatically the leader of the largest party; it is generally the member considered most likely to assemble a government.[4]

The first designated member has 28 days, with presidential extensions totaling no more than 14 additional days. If the attempt fails, the president may assign another Knesset member a 28-day mandate. Later procedures allow a majority of Knesset members to request that a named member receive a final 14-day mandate.[2]

After forming a government, the designated member informs the president and Knesset speaker. The proposed government presents its policy guidelines, composition, and allocation of ministerial functions and requests the Knesset’s confidence. The government is formed once the Knesset expresses confidence in it.[2]

The number of ministers and deputy ministers is not fixed. Ministers may hold multiple portfolios or serve without a specific portfolio, and the prime minister may also hold ministerial responsibilities.[6]

Operational executive power lies with the prime minister and Government.[4] Basic Law: The Government also gives the Government residual authority, subject to law, to act on behalf of the state in matters not assigned to another authority.[2]

Decisions involving war are governed by Section 40. The current Basic Law requires a Government decision to begin a war or initiate a significant military operation that is nearly certain to lead to war. The Government may delegate that authority to a legally prescribed ministerial committee when the stated security, foreign-relations, or confidentiality conditions are met. Other military actions required for national defense and public security remain permitted.[2]

During a declared state of emergency, the Government may issue emergency regulations for the defense of the state, public security, and the maintenance of supplies and vital services. If the prime minister considers it impossible to convene the Government and finds an urgent and vital need, the prime minister may issue the regulations or authorize another minister to do so. They must be laid before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as soon as possible and ordinarily expire after three months.[2]

When a government resigns or a new Knesset is elected, the outgoing Government continues performing its functions until a successor is formed. A resigning prime minister likewise continues performing the duties during that period.[2]

The office combines executive leadership with dependence on parliamentary confidence. Because Israel has always required coalition government, prime ministers must coordinate Cabinet policy while sustaining support among parties that may have competing programs.[4] This combination makes the office central to both administration and coalition politics.

David Ben-Gurion, the founding prime minister, served during the state’s establishment and the War of Independence. His terms ran from 1948 to 1954 and from 1955 to 1963.[5][3] The Ben-Gurion Institute studies and documents Israel, Zionism, and Ben-Gurion’s political career.[8]

Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister, took office in 1969 after Levi Eshkol’s death and served until her resignation in 1974.[3] Her tenure included the 1973 Yom Kippur War.[5]

Menachem Begin ended the uninterrupted Labor-led succession after the 1977 election.[5] His premiership included the negotiations that produced the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.[5]

Yitzhak Rabin served from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995. Shimon Peres succeeded him and served until 1996; Peres had previously rotated the premiership with Yitzhak Shamir from 1984 to 1986.[3][5]

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister by cumulative time in office.[3] Born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and raised in Jerusalem, he served as a soldier and officer in the IDF special-forces unit Sayeret Matkal and as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988. He became Likud chairman and opposition leader in 1993 before winning the premiership in 1996.[9] His periods in office are 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and 2022 onward.[3]

Israel’s 37th government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, was inaugurated on December 29, 2022. Its initial roster contained 31 ministers.[6] Following the November 1 election, the president selected Netanyahu to form a government, and the Knesset approved a coalition comprising Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam.[4]

As of July 2, 2026, Netanyahu led the coalition government with Likud.[10] Knesset elections were scheduled for no later than October 2026, with Netanyahu or the Knesset able to call elections as early as September 2026.[10] A February 26, 2026 Israel–India joint statement also identified Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel.[11]

Fourteen people have served as prime minister since 1948, in addition to Yigal Allon’s interim service in 1969.[3] The chronological list, including Allon, is:

1. David Ben-Gurion: 1948–1954 and 1955–1963
2. Moshe Sharett: 1954–1955
3. Levi Eshkol: 1963–1969
4. Yigal Allon: 1969, interim
5. Golda Meir: 1969–1974
6. Yitzhak Rabin: 1974–1977 and 1992–1995
7. Menachem Begin: 1977–1983
8. Yitzhak Shamir: 1983–1984 and 1986–1992
9. Shimon Peres: 1984–1986 and 1995–1996
10. Benjamin Netanyahu: 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and 2022–present
11. Ehud Barak: 1999–2001
12. Ariel Sharon: 2001–2006
13. Ehud Olmert: 2006–2009
14. Naftali Bennett: 2021–2022
15. Yair Lapid: 2022[3]

Ben-Gurion, Rabin, Shamir, Peres, and Netanyahu served non-consecutive periods.[3] A 2017 official Netanyahu curriculum vitae divided his service at that time into a first term in 1996–1999, a second in 2009–2013, a third in 2013–2015, and a fourth beginning in 2015.[9]

The allocation of authority over war and major military operations has generated institutional debate. A 2018 analysis criticized a then-enacted provision that allowed the prime minister and defense minister to decide in a restricted quorum under extreme circumstances, arguing that it concentrated authority and weakened checks and balances.[12] The current English translation of Basic Law: The Government marks that two-person provision as repealed and instead permits delegation from the Government to a legally prescribed ministerial committee under stated conditions.[2]

Emergency regulatory authority has also prompted scrutiny. When the Government cannot be convened and an urgent and vital need exists, the prime minister may issue emergency regulations or authorize another minister to do so. The regulations are limited in duration and subject to review by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but their breadth has remained part of wider debate over Israel’s emergency legal framework.[2][13]

Rotation governments create separate legal roles for the prime minister and alternate prime minister. The Basic Law regulates their Knesset membership, affiliations of ministers, declared rotation date, oaths, and transfer of office without a second confidence vote.[2] These detailed provisions reflect the distinct constitutional structure required for formal rotation arrangements.