2. • Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is an Israeli politician who has been serving as
the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office
from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021.
• He is the chairman of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-tenured
prime minister in the country's history, having served for a total of over 16
years. He is also the first prime minister to have been born in Israel after its
establishment.
• Born in Tel Aviv to secular Jewish parents, Netanyahu was raised in
Jerusalem and in Philadelphia in the United States.
3. • He returned to Israel in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces. He became a
team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces and took part in several
missions, achieving the rank of captain before being honorably discharged.
After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
• Netanyahu became an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting
Group. He moved back to Israel in 1978 to found the Yonatan Netanyahu
Anti-Terror Institute.
• From 1984 to 1988, Netanyahu was Permanent Representative of Israel to
the United Nations. Netanyahu rose to prominence after being elected as
the chairman of Likud in 1993, becoming Leader of the Opposition
4. • In the 1996 election, Netanyahu beat Shimon Peres, becoming the first Israeli
prime minister elected directly by popular vote, and its youngest-ever.
• Netanyahu and Likud were heavily defeated in the 1999 election by Ehud
Barak's One Israel alliance; and Netanyahu chose to retire from politics
entirely, entering the private sector. Netanyahu later returned to politics, and
served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance under Ariel
Sharon.
• Netanyahu returned to the leadership of Likud in December 2005 after
Sharon stepped down to form a new party, Kadima.
5. • He was the leader of the opposition from 2006 to 2009. After the 2009
election, Netanyahu formed a coalition government with other right-wing
parties and was sworn in as prime minister for a second time.
• He went on to lead Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections.A period
of political deadlock ensued after three consecutive elections in 2019 and
2020 failed to produce a government, which was solved after a coalition
rotation agreement was reached between Netanyahu and centrist Blue and
White alliance's Benny Gantz
