Shimon Peres

{{Audio|He-Shimon_Peres.ogg|Shimon Peres}} (Hebrew ????????? ??????) (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. In 1994 Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, for their efforts towards peace which culminated in the Oslo Accords.

Early life

Shimon Peres (original last name was Perske) was born in Wieniawa, Poland (now Vishniev 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.

Related Topics:
Wieniawa - Poland - Vishniev - Belarus - Tel Aviv - Israel - 1934

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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.

Related Topics:
1947 - Haganah - Israeli Defense Forces - David Ben-Gurion - 1952 - 1953 - State of Israel - Dassault Mirage III

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