Prime Ministers of Israel

The fourteen people who have served as prime minister, in chronological order of first assuming the office, are David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Lapid.[3][6]

Several served nonconsecutive terms: Ben-Gurion served twice, in 1948–1954 and 1955–1963; Rabin in 1974–1977 and 1992–1995; Shamir in 1983–1984 and 1986–1992; Peres in 1984–1986 and 1995–1996; and Netanyahu in 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and from December 2022.[1][3] The number of distinct individuals is therefore fourteen even though the number of terms and governments is higher.

Yigal Allon sits outside this fourteen-person count. After Levi Eshkol died in February 1969, Allon served as interim prime minister for approximately one month before Golda Meir took over the government.[3] He is identified separately as an acting or interim prime minister rather than as one of the fourteen regular officeholders.[6]

David Ben-Gurion was appointed head of the People's Administration on April 18, 1948, and became prime minister and defense minister when Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.[4] He was Israel's first prime minister and a dominant figure of the founding era. He oversaw the establishment of state institutions, the absorption of Jews arriving from Arab countries, national development projects, and the Sinai campaign of 1956.[4] He also oversaw the integration of rival underground organizations into the Israel Defense Forces and the capture and execution of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.[7] Ben-Gurion's first government included Moshe Sharett, then listed as Moshe Shertok, as foreign minister and Golda Meir, then Golda Myerson, as minister of labor.[8]

Ben-Gurion served until 1954, when Moshe Sharett succeeded him, and returned to the premiership from 1955 to 1963.[1] Sharett, Israel's second prime minister, had previously served as the founding foreign minister and was described as one of the founders of the state.[9] His tenure ended after disagreements with Ben-Gurion.[9]

Levi Eshkol succeeded Ben-Gurion in 1963 and died while serving as prime minister on February 26, 1969.[3][10] His tenure encompassed the June 1967 war, before which he formed Israel's first national-unity government. The expanded coalition remained in place for 38 months, an unusually long period compared with preceding Israeli governments.[10]

Golda Meir succeeded Eshkol after his death in February 1969 and led Israel's fourteenth government.[10] She remains the only woman among Israel's fourteen regular prime ministers.[1] Meir continued the national-unity arrangement established under Eshkol and led the country during the period following the June 1967 war.

Her premiership ended in 1974 after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur and initially made significant advances before Israeli forces pushed them back beyond the 1967 cease-fire lines.[11] Meir resigned from the government and the Knesset amid the political aftermath of the war.[12]

Yitzhak Rabin first became prime minister in June 1974, following Golda Meir's resignation, and served until April 1977.[13] A former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Rabin brought a military background to the office.[7] His first government ended before the 1977 election brought Menachem Begin and Likud to power.

Rabin returned to the premiership in July 1992 after Labor formed a coalition with Meretz and Shas.[5] His second term became closely associated with the Oslo process and agreements with the Palestine Liberation Organization. On November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated while serving as prime minister. Shimon Peres, then deputy prime minister and foreign minister, succeeded him and continued the government's Oslo commitments.[5]

Menachem Begin's election in 1977 marked the first transfer of national power from the Labor movement and its predecessors to the Likud-aligned right.[3][7] Begin remained in office after Likud retained power in June 1981 and served until 1983, when he resigned and was succeeded by Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir.[5]

Shamir's first stint as prime minister ran from 1983 to 1984. The July 1984 election produced a deadlock, leading to a power-sharing agreement in which Shimon Peres initially served as prime minister while Shamir was vice prime minister and foreign minister. They switched positions in October 1986.[11][5] Peres consequently held the premiership from 1984 to 1986, after which Shamir resumed it.

The 1988 election produced another national-unity government led by Shamir. After Peres failed to form a coalition in 1990, Shamir formed a new Likud-led government and remained prime minister until 1992.[5] Shamir's combined tenures ran from 1983 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1992. Before reaching the premiership, he had served as a Lehi commander, Mossad official, Knesset speaker, and foreign minister.[14]

Shimon Peres served as prime minister during two distinct periods. Under the 1984 power-sharing agreement, he held the premiership for the first part of the term before exchanging positions with Yitzhak Shamir in October 1986.[3][5]

Peres became prime minister again after Rabin's assassination in November 1995 and continued the Rabin government's Oslo commitments. His second term ended in 1996, when he lost Israel's first direct election for prime minister to Benjamin Netanyahu.[5] Peres had also served as acting prime minister from April 22 to June 21, 1977, during the transition between Rabin's first government and the Begin era.[13]

Benjamin Netanyahu won the May 29, 1996 election, Israel's first direct election for prime minister, and served his initial term from 1996 to 1999.[5] After Ehud Barak defeated him in 1999, Netanyahu returned to the premiership in 2009.

His second and longest continuous tenure ran from 2009 to 2021. During that period, he surpassed David Ben-Gurion to become Israel's longest-serving prime minister.[3] The period included repeated election cycles, and Netanyahu faced trial on corruption charges during its final years.[15]

The Bennett-Lapid coalition ended Netanyahu's twelve-year consecutive tenure in June 2021.[15] Following the November 1, 2022 election, the president selected Netanyahu to form a coalition, and on December 29 the Knesset approved the new government, beginning his third overall stint.[2] The Center for Israel Education lists Netanyahu's latest term as running from 2022 to the present.[3]

Ehud Barak won the 1999 election, the second direct election for prime minister, and formed a coalition government of secular and religious parties.[5] A former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Barak brought extensive military credentials to office.[7] He resigned in December 2000, precipitating the third and so far last direct prime-ministerial election, held on February 6, 2001.[3][5]

Ariel Sharon defeated Barak by more than 20 percentage points in that special election and formed a broad unity government.[11] In November 2005, Sharon left Likud to establish Kadima and called an election for March 2006.[5] His premiership ended prematurely after a massive stroke left him in a coma in January 2006.[3]

Ehud Olmert first became prime minister on an interim basis after Sharon entered the coma, subsequently held the office in his own right, and resigned amid corruption allegations.[3] Before reaching the premiership, Olmert had served as mayor of Jerusalem and later returned to the Knesset and cabinet alongside Sharon.[7] He was serving as Israel's prime minister in October 2007.[5]

Naftali Bennett was sworn in as prime minister on June 13, 2021, after the Knesset approved his government by 60 votes to 59, with one abstention.[15] The coalition included the Arab-led, Islamist United Arab List, or Ra'am, in the first instance of an independent Arab party joining an Israeli government.[15]

Bennett's Yamina party had won seven seats in the March 2021 election, making it the smallest Knesset party to produce a prime minister.[3] He took office under a power-sharing agreement with Yair Lapid, and the new government ended Netanyahu's twelve-year consecutive premiership.[15]

Bennett served from June 2021 to June 2022. Lapid then became prime minister under the rotation arrangement, taking office on July 2, 2022.[3] His tenure was the shortest of any Israeli prime minister and ended when Netanyahu's new government was approved on December 29, 2022.[3][2]

The following list summarizes the year ranges reported by the Jewish Virtual Library and the Center for Israel Education.[1][3]

1. David Ben-Gurion — 1948–1954 and 1955–1963. Israel's first prime minister, he also held the defense portfolio and oversaw the establishment of state institutions.[4]

2. Moshe Sharett — 1954–1955. Israel's second prime minister, he had previously served as the founding foreign minister.[1][9]

3. Levi Eshkol — 1963–1969. He died while serving as prime minister and led Israel's first national-unity government during the period of the June 1967 war.[3][10]

(Interim: Yigal Allon — approximately one month in 1969 after Eshkol's death; not counted among the fourteen regular officeholders.)[3]

4. Golda Meir — 1969–1974. She remains the only woman among the fourteen regular prime ministers.[1]

5. Yitzhak Rabin — 1974–1977 and 1992–1995. A former IDF chief of staff, he was assassinated in November 1995 during his second term.[7][5]

6. Menachem Begin — 1977–1983. His election ended three decades of governments led by Mapai and its left-wing successors.[3]

7. Yitzhak Shamir — 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. A former Lehi commander, Mossad official, and Knesset speaker, he participated in the rotation arrangement with Shimon Peres.[14][5]

8. Shimon Peres — 1984–1986 and 1995–1996. He served first under the power-sharing agreement with Shamir and again after Rabin's assassination.[3][5]

9. Benjamin Netanyahu — 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and 2022–present. He won the first direct election for prime minister and became Israel's longest-serving prime minister.[3][5]

10. Ehud Barak — 1999–2001. He won the second direct election and resigned in December 2000.[5]

11. Ariel Sharon — 2001–2006. He won the third direct election by more than 20 percentage points, and his premiership ended after he entered a coma in January 2006.[3][11]

12. Ehud Olmert — 2006–2009. He first took office on an interim basis after Sharon's incapacitation and later resigned amid corruption allegations.[3]

13. Naftali Bennett — 2021–2022. His government was approved by a 60–59 Knesset vote and included Ra'am.[15]

14. Yair Lapid — 2022. He took office on July 2 and served the shortest term of any Israeli prime minister.[3]

The prime minister is the head of the Israeli government and the chief executive of the state.[1] The Knesset is a 120-member parliament elected for a fixed four-year term, although premature dissolution and fresh elections are frequent.[2] Early elections can shorten the life of a government well before four years have elapsed.

After an election, the president consults party representatives and selects a member of the new Knesset who appears most likely to form a government. If that member assembles a coalition and the Knesset votes in favor of the proposed government, the member becomes prime minister.[2] No party had won 61 seats by the date of the cited government report, so coalitions had always been required to form a government.[2]

Israel directly elected its prime minister between 1996 and 2001. Benjamin Netanyahu won the first direct election in 1996, Ehud Barak won the second in 1999, and Ariel Sharon won the third in 2001.[3][5] The legislation providing for direct election was rescinded in March 2001, restoring the parliamentary-selection model.[5]

Golda Meir remains the only woman among Israel's fourteen regular prime ministers.[1] Military backgrounds have also been common: Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak were both former chiefs of staff of the Israel Defense Forces.[7][7]

Nonconsecutive terms have been a feature of the office since Ben-Gurion returned to the premiership in 1955 after Sharett's term. Rabin, Shamir, Peres, and Netanyahu later returned to office after periods outside the premiership.[1][3]

The party landscape shifted sharply in 1977, when Begin's victory ended three decades of governments led by Mapai and its left-wing successors.[3] Before that election, the regular prime ministers—Ben-Gurion, Sharett, Eshkol, Meir, and Rabin—had all emerged from the Labor-aligned political tradition. Begin's election therefore represented both a transfer of office and a broader political realignment.

The Peres-Shamir governments of the 1980s and the Bennett-Lapid agreement of 2021–2022 illustrate the use of formal rotation arrangements to resolve coalition deadlock.[3][15] Peres and Shamir exchanged offices as agreed in October 1986, while Lapid took office after Bennett in July 2022.[3][5]

Eshkol's death in February 1969 created the brief interregnum in which Yigal Allon served as interim prime minister before Golda Meir succeeded him.[3] Allon's interim service is treated separately from the fourteen-person count. Peres also served briefly as acting prime minister in 1977, but he later held two regular terms and is included among the fourteen officeholders.[13]

The total of fourteen prime ministers counts distinct regular officeholders rather than separate terms, administrations, or governments. Ben-Gurion, Rabin, Shamir, Peres, and Netanyahu each held the office more than once, so counting terms produces a larger total.[1][3]

Sources distinguish Yigal Allon's interim service from the fourteen regular officeholders. The Jewish Virtual Library's chronological table lists the regular prime ministers without Allon, while the Center for Israel Education explicitly identifies him as an acting or interim prime minister after Eshkol's death.[6][3]

The direct elections held in 1996, 1999, and 2001 formed a separate constitutional phase. Netanyahu won the first, Barak the second, and Sharon the third.[3][5] The direct-election legislation was rescinded in March 2001. Under the restored parliamentary model, the president selects a Knesset member to attempt to form a government, which then requires a favorable Knesset vote.[2][5]

Year ranges can obscure caretaker periods, rotation dates, and the precise day on which one government replaced another. The ranges here follow the Jewish Virtual Library and Center for Israel Education lists; exact dates are included only where the cited sources provide them.[1][3]