This article lists the presidents of the Provisional State Council and Presidents of Israel since the adoption of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.
Presidents of the Provisional State Council (1948–1949)
Colour key | |||
---|---|---|---|
Mapai | General Zionists |
The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine.
As President of the Provisional State Council, the interim legislative and executive authority that served until the formation of Israel's provisional government, Chaim Weizmann served as the de facto head of state until his election as President of Israel in 1949.
Presidents | Elected (term) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Portrait | Name (Lifespan) |
Term of office | Political party (at time of appointment) | |||
1 | David Ben-Gurion דוד בן-גוריון (1886–1973) |
14 May 1948 | 16 May 1948 | Mapai | — | ||
2 | Chaim Weizmann חיים עזריאל ויצמן (1874–1952) |
16 May 1948 | 17 February 1949 | General Zionists | — |
Presidents of Israel (1949–present)
Colour key | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Zionists | Mapai | Alignment/Labor | Likud | Kadima |
Eleven people have served as President of Israel, four of whom have served two consecutive terms. Another, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, was elected to three consecutive terms, although he died in office soon after the beginning of his third term.
Isaac Herzog has been serving as the 11th President of Israel since 2021.
President | Elected (term) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Portrait | Name (Lifespan) |
Term of office | Political party (at time of appointment) | |||
1 | Chaim Weizmann חיים עזריאל ויצמן (1874–1952) |
17 February 1949 | 25 November 1951 | General Zionists | 1949 (1st) | ||
25 November 1951 | 9 November 1952[1] | 1951 (2nd) | |||||
– | Yosef Sprinzak יוסף שפרינצק (1885–1959) Acting |
9 November 1952 | 16 December 1952 | Mapai | – | ||
2 | Yitzhak Ben-Zvi יצחק בן צבי (1884–1963) |
16 December 1952 | 30 October 1957[1] | Mapai | 1952 (3rd) | ||
30 October 1957 | 30 October 1962 | 1957 (4th) | |||||
30 October 1962 | 23 April 1963[2] | 1962 (5th) | |||||
– | Kadish Luz קדיש לוז (1895–1972) Acting |
23 April 1963 | 21 May 1963 | Mapai | – | ||
3 | Zalman Shazar זלמן שז"ר (1889–1974) |
21 May 1963 | 26 March 1968 | Mapai | 1963 (6th) | ||
26 March 1968 | 24 May 1973 | 1968 (7th) | |||||
4 | Ephraim Katzir אפרים קציר (1916–2009) |
24 May 1973 | 29 May 1978 | Alignment Labor |
1973 (8th) | ||
5 | Yitzhak Navon יצחק נבון (1921–2015) |
29 May 1978 | 5 May 1983 | Alignment Labor |
1978 (9th) | ||
6 | Chaim Herzog חיים הרצוג (1918–1997) |
5 May 1983 | 23 February 1988 | Alignment Labor |
1983 (10th) | ||
23 February 1988 | 13 May 1993 | 1988 (11th) | |||||
7 | Ezer Weizman עזר ויצמן (1924–2005) |
13 May 1993 | 4 March 1998 | Labor | 1993 (12th) | ||
4 March 1998 | 13 July 2000[3] | 1998 (13th) | |||||
– | Avraham Burg אברהם בורג (born 1955) Acting |
13 July 2000 | 1 August 2000 | One Israel Labor |
– | ||
8 | Moshe Katsav משה קצב (born 1945) |
1 August 2000 | 1 July 2007[4][5] | Likud | 2000 (14th) | ||
– | Dalia Itzik דליה איציק (born 1952) Acting |
1 July 2007 | 15 July 2007 | Kadima | – | ||
9 | Shimon Peres שמעון פרס (1923–2016) |
15 July 2007 | 24 July 2014 | Kadima | 2007 (15th) | ||
10 | Reuven Rivlin ראובן ריבלין (born 1939) |
24 July 2014 | 7 July 2021 | Likud | 2014 (16th) | ||
11 | Isaac Herzog יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג (born 1960) |
7 July 2021 | (Term expires in 2028) | Labor | 2021 (17th) |
Notes
- ^ David Ben-Gurion preceded Weizmann as Chairman of Provisional State Council, a position which he held from 14 to 16 or 17 May 1948. Weizmann's position remained as Chairman of Provisional State Council until 17 February 1949, when he was declared President by the first Knesset. Upon Weizmann's death on 9 November 1952, Knesset Speaker Yosef Sprinzak took over as Acting President of Israel until the inauguration of Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.
- ^ Upon Ben-Zvi's death on 23 April 1963, Knesset Speaker Kadish Luz took over as Acting President of Israel until the appointment of Zalman Shazar.
- ^ After Weizman resigned from the presidency, Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg took over as Acting President of Israel until the appointment of Moshe Katsav.
- ^ After Katsav began a leave of absence due to police investigations on 25 January 2007, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik took over as Acting President of Israel. She continued in this role after Katsav's resignation came into effect on 1 July 2007 until Shimon Peres's inauguration on 15 July.
- ^ Majalli Wahabi served as Acting President while Dalia Itzik was travelling to the United States. He thus become the first Druze and non-Jew to serve as Acting President of Israel.
Timeline
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/en/timeline/cajkq4907u1ivgcopztsg46q7bmqupl.png)
Main biographical data
No. | Name | Date of birth | Date of death | Place of birth | Place of death | Place of burial |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chaim Weizmann | 27 November 1874 | 9 November 1952 | Motal, Russian Empire |
Rehovot |
Rehovot[2] |
2 | Yitzhak Ben-Zvi | 24 November 1884 | 23 April 1963 | Poltava, Russian Empire |
Jerusalem |
Har HaMenuchot |
3 | Zalman Shazar | 24 November 1889 | 5 October 1974 | Mir, Russian Empire |
Jerusalem |
Mount Herzl |
4 | Ephraim Katzir | 16 May 1916 | 30 May 2009 | Kiev, Russian Empire |
Rehovot |
Rehovot Cemetery |
5 | Yitzhak Navon | 9 April 1921 | 7 November 2015 | Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
Jerusalem |
Mount Herzl [3] |
6 | Chaim Herzog | 17 September 1918 | 17 April 1997 | Belfast, United Kingdom |
Tel Aviv |
Mount Herzl |
7 | Ezer Weizman | 15 June 1924 | 24 April 2005 | Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine |
Caesarea |
Or Akiva |
8 | Moshe Katsav | 5 December 1945 | Yazd, Pahlavi Iran |
|||
9 | Shimon Peres | 2 August 1923 | 28 September 2016 | Vishnyeva, Poland |
Ramat Gan |
Mount Herzl |
10 | Reuven Rivlin | 9 September 1939 | Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
|||
11 | Isaac Herzog | 22 September 1960 | Tel Aviv, Israel |
See also
References
- ^ https://pdfs.jta.org/1957/1957-10-31_208.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Chaim Weizmann - First President of the State of Israel". president.gov.il. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ Lis, Jonathan (8 November 2015). "Yitzhak Navon, Israel's Fifth President, Laid to Rest at Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl Cemetery". Haaretz.