Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
אריאל שרון
	Sharon speaking as Israeli Foreign Minister in the United States, 1998
11th Prime Minister of Israel
	In office; 7 March 2001 – 14 April 2006*
President	Moshe Katsav
Deputy	Ehud Olmert
Preceded by	Ehud Barak
Succeeded by	Ehud Olmert
Personal details
Born	Ariel Scheinermann; 26 February 1928; Kfar Malal, British Mandate of Palestine
Died	11 January 2014 (aged 85); Ramat Gan, Israel
Spouse(s)	Margalit Sharon; (m. 1953–1962; her death); Lily Sharon; (m. 1963–2000; her death)
Children	Gur (dead), Omri, Gilad
Alma mater	Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Tel Aviv University
Profession	Military officer

Ariel Sharon (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014) was an Israeli politician of Likud and later Kadima. Sharon was Prime Minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006.

Early life

Sharon was born on February 27, 1928 in Kfar Malal, British-Palestine. Sharon was in the Israel Army for many years. He fought in numerous battles, and in 1974 he left the army as General. After leaving the army he decided to go to politics.

Politics

In 1977, he became Minister of Agriculture. In 1981 he became the Minister of Defence. In 1983, he was sent away from the government as Minister of Defence after he was found to be guilty for not preventing a massacre in Lebanon where many hundreds of civilians were killed by other civilians.

In 2001, he was elected for Prime Minister after the war between Israel and Palestine started. In 2004, he surprised many people when he said that Israel will get out of the Gaza Strip, which is the place where many Palestinian people live.

Health

In December 2005, Sharon was taken into hospital. On January 4, 2006, Sharon was again taken to the hospital. He had a big stroke (bleeding in the brain).

Rumours spread immediately of his death, though these were denied by his physicians. It was soon reported and later confirmed that Sharon was in a coma. Ehud Olmert, another member of Sharon's newly formed Kadima party, was acting Prime Minister until elections were held in Israel, after which Olmert became Prime Minister of Israel.

Death

Sharon died on 11 January 2014.^[1] He died from kidney failure and stroke complications at the hospital in Ramat Gan. He had been in a coma at the time. He was aged 85.^[2]^[3]

His state funeral was held on 13 January. He was buried in line with Jewish burial customs. It was held as soon after death as possible. The day before the funeral, Sharon's body and coffin were placed in the Knesset building for people to see. His funeral began with an official ceremony held in the Knesset chamber. Politicians from Israel and other countries attended. His funeral was then held at his family's farm in the Negev desert. Sharon was buried there beside his wife, Lily.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Leaders attended his funeral service included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.^[7]

Ariel SharonDeath Media

Ariel Sharon at age 14 (second from right)
Operation Bin Nun (24–25 May 1948), during which Sharon was shot in the stomach, foot and groin.
Sharon, top second from left, with members of Unit 101 after Operation Egged (November 1955). Standing l to r: Lt. Meir Har-Zion, Maj. Arik Sharon, Lt. Gen Moshe Dayan, Capt. Dani Matt, Lt. Moshe Efron, Maj. Gen Asaf Simchoni; on ground, l to r: Capt. Aharon Davidi, Lt. Ya'akov Ya'akov, Capt. Raful Eitan
Sharon (left), armed with Ka-Bar combat knife, stands with other paratroop commandos, before Operation Olive Leaves, 1955.
1956 Israeli conquest of Sinai
Conquest of Sinai. 5–6 June 1967
Conquest of Sinai. 7–8 June 1967
Operation Gazelle, Israel's ground maneuver, encircles the Egyptian Third Army, October 1973
Sharon's 143rd Division, crossing the Suez Canal, in the direction of Cairo, 15 October 1973