Prime Minister of Israel

Prime Minister of Israel. The State of Israel adopted at its founding a parliamentary system of government, with a Prime Minister as head of government, and a largely ceremonial President as head of state. In recent years, with the introduction of direct elections for Prime Ministers, the role of the Prime Minister has increased somewhat because a government can exist while having a minority coalition in the parliament, Knesset. However this trend caused excessive fragmentation in the Israeli political system, and a return to the old voting method was approved.

Prime Ministers of Israel

1. David Ben-Gurion, 1948-1954
2. Moshe Sharett, 1954-1955
3. David Ben-Gurion, 1955-1963
4. Levi Eshkol, 1963-1969
5. Golda Meir, 1969-1974
6. Yitzhak Rabin, 1974-1976
7. Menachem Begin, 1977-1983
8. Yitzhak Shamir, 1983-1984
9. Shimon Peres, 1984-1986
10. Yitzhak Shamir, 1986-1992
11. Yitzhak Rabin, 1992-1995
12. Shimon Peres, 1995-1996
13. Benjamin Netanyahu, 1996-1999
14. Ehud Barak, 1999-2001
15. Ariel Sharon, 2001-present

See also: Politics of Israel, lists of incumbents