Shimon Peres (/ʃiːˌmoʊn ˈpɛrɛs, -ɛz/; Hebrew: שמעון פרס [ʃiˌmon ˈpeʁes]; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of Israel from 2007 to 2014. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and except for a three-month-long i ...