Benjamin Netanyahu

(1949 - )

Born in Tel­Aviv on October 21, 1949, Benjamin Netanyahu grew up in Jerusalem. He spent his high school years in the United States, where his father, the historian Professor Benzion Netanyahu, taught history. Returning to Israel in 1967, Mr. Netanyahu enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and served in an elite commando unit.

Before entering political life, Mr. Netanyahu served as a soldier and officer in an elite anti­terror unit in the Israel Defense Forces (1967­72). Mr. Netanyahu participated in various missions during the War of Attrition, including the Beirut Airport operation. He took part in the rescue of the hijacked Sabena Airlines hostages at Ben Gurion Airport, in which he was wounded. He was also cited for outstanding operational leadership by O.C. Northern Command, the late Maj. Gen. Motta Gur. He was discharged from the I.D.F. in 1972 and reached the rank of captain following the Yom Kippur War.

Mr. Netanyahu received a B.Sc. in Architecture and an M.Sc. in Management Studies from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University.

After completing his studies he was employed by the Boston Consulting Group, an international business consulting firm. He later joined the senior management of Rim Industries in Jerusalem.

In 1979 he initiated and organized an international conference against terrorism, under the auspices of the Jonathan Institute ­ a private foundation dedicated to the study of terrorism, which was named after his brother Jonathan who fell while leading the rescue party at Entebbe.

World leaders, including former U.S. President George Bush and former Secretary of State George Shultz, participated in this conference and a subsequent one in 1984. Mr. Netanyahu has been credited by Mr. Shultz for his central role in effecting a change in American policies on international terrorism.

In 1982, at the request of then­Ambassador Moshe Arens, Mr. Netanyahu assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Mission in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He was a member of the first delegation to the talks on strategic cooperation between Israel and the United States. Two years later he was appointed Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations and served there for four years. As U.N. ambassador, Mr. Netanyahu led the effort that opened the U.N. Nazi War Crimes Archives in 1987.

Returning to Israel in 1988, Mr. Netanyahu was elected to the 12th Knesset as a Likud member and was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister.

During the Gulf War he served as Israel's principal representative in the international arena. In October 1991, he was a senior member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference, which initiated the first direct negotiations between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, and a joint Jordanian­Palestinian delegation.

On March 25, 1993, he was elected Likud Party Chairman and the party's candidate for Prime Minister.

As Chairman of the Likud Party since 1993, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister of Israel in May 1996 in the first direct election of prime minister in Israel, serving in this position until July 1999. Following his defeat in the 1999 elections, he resigned from the chairmanship of the Likud and from the 15th Knesset.

In November 2002 Benjamin Netanyahu was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Netanyahu is the author and editor of several books:

Self Portrait of a Hero: From the Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu 1963-1976 (Edited 1978)

International Terrorism: Challenge and Response (Edited 1979)

Terrorism: How the West Can Win. (Edited 1986)

A Place Among Nations: Israel and the World (1992)

Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists (1995)

Mr. Netanyahu is married to Sara, and is the father of Noa, Yair and Avner.