Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu
בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ
Official portrait, 2023
9th Prime Minister of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 December 2022
President	Isaac Herzog
Deputy	Yariv Levin
Preceded by	Yair Lapid
In office 31 March 2009 – 13 June 2021
President	Shimon Peres Reuven Rivlin
Alternate	Benny Gantz (2020–2021)
Preceded by	Ehud Olmert
Succeeded by	Naftali Bennett
In office 18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999
President	Ezer Weizman
Preceded by	Shimon Peres
Succeeded by	Ehud Barak
Leader of the Opposition
In office 28 June 2021[1] – 29 December 2022
Prime Minister	Naftali Bennett Yair Lapid
Preceded by	Yair Lapid
Succeeded by	Yair Lapid
In office 16 January 2006 – 31 March 2009
Prime Minister	Ehud Olmert
Preceded by	Amir Peretz
Succeeded by	Tzipi Livni
In office 3 February 1993 – 18 June 1996
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Rabin Shimon Peres
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Shimon Peres
Chairman of Likud
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 December 2005
Preceded by	Ariel Sharon
In office 3 February 1993 – 6 July 1999
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Ariel Sharon
7th Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations
In office 1 September 1984 – 1 March 1988
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Shamir Shimon Peres Yitzhak Shamir
Preceded by	Yehuda Blum
Succeeded by	Yohanan Bein
Ministerial roles
1996–1997	Science and Technology
1996–1999	Housing and Construction
2002–2003	Foreign Affairs
2003–2005	Finance
2009–2013	Economic Strategy Health Pensioner Affairs
2012–2013	Foreign Affairs
2013	Foreign Affairs Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs
Personal details
Born	(1949-10-21) 21 October 1949 (age 75) Tel Aviv, Israel
Political party	Likud (since 1988)
Other political affiliations	Herut (until 1988)
Spouses	Miriam Weizmann ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1978)​ Fleur Cates ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1988)​ Sara Ben-Artzi ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	Noa Netanyahu Yair Netanyahu Avner Netanyahu
Parents	Benzion Netanyahu (father) Tzila Segal (mother)
Relatives	Nathan Mileikowsky (grandfather) Yonatan Netanyahu (brother) Iddo Netanyahu (brother) Elisha Netanyahu (uncle) Shoshana Netanyahu (aunt) Nathan Netanyahu (cousin)
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS) Harvard University
Occupation	Diplomat management consultant marketing executive politician writer
Cabinet	27 32 33 34 35 37
Awards	Jabotinsky Medal (1980)
Signature
Website	www.netanyahu.org.il
Nickname	Bibi
Military service
Branch/service	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1967–1973
Rank	Séren (Captain)
Unit	Sayeret Matkal
Battles/wars	War of Attrition Battle of Karameh 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon Yom Kippur War

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu^[a] (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who is serving as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, having served a total of over 17 years.

Born to secular Jewish parents, Netanyahu was raised in West Jerusalem and the United States. He returned to Israel in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Sayeret Matkal special forces as a captain before being honorably discharged. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Netanyahu worked for the Boston Consulting Group and moved back to Israel in 1978 to found the Yonatan Netanyahu Anti-Terror Institute. Between 1984 and 1988 Netanyahu was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. Netanyahu rose to prominence after election as chair of Likud in 1993, becoming leader of the opposition. In the 1996 general election, Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister elected directly by popular vote, and its youngest. Netanyahu was defeated in the 1999 election and retired from politics, entering the private sector. He returned and served as minister of foreign affairs and finance, initiating economic reforms, before resigning over the Gaza disengagement plan.

Netanyahu returned to lead Likud in 2005 and was leader of the opposition between 2006 and 2009. After the 2009 legislative election, Netanyahu formed a coalition with other right-wing parties and became prime minister again. He led Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections. Netanyahu made his closeness to Donald Trump, a friend since the 1980s, central to his appeal from 2016. During Trump's first presidency, the US recognized Jerusalem as capital of Israel, Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered the Abraham Accords, normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab world. Netanyahu has faced criticism over expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, deemed illegal under international law. In 2019, Netanyahu was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud, and relinquished all ministerial posts except prime minister. The 2018–2022 Israeli political crisis led to a rotation agreement between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz. This collapsed in 2020, leading to a March 2021 election. In June 2021, Netanyahu was removed from the premiership, before returning after the 2022 election.

Netanyahu's coalition pursued judicial reform, which was met with large-scale protests in early 2023. The 7 October attacks by Hamas-led Palestinian groups in the same year triggered the Israel–Hamas war, with Netanyahu facing nationwide protests for the security lapse during the attack and failure to secure the return of Israeli hostages. In October 2024, he also ordered an invasion of Lebanon with the stated goal of destroying the military capabilities of Hezbollah, a key ally of Hamas that helped them since the 7 October attack. After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Netanyahu directed an invasion of Syria against the Syrian opposition. Netanyahu's government has been accused of genocide in Gaza, culminating in the South Africa v. Israel case before the International Court of Justice in December 2023. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November 2024 for Netanyahu along with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas militant Mohammed Deif, whom Israel presumes dead after an airstrike, for war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).