Yitzhak Shamir
Shamir, Yitzhak
(yētz`äk shämēr`), 1915–2012, Zionist activist and Israeli politician, b. Poland. Emigrating (1935) to Palestine, he was twice arrested by the British for participating in a militant Jewish organization; in 1946 he fled to France. Returning (1948) to IsraelIsrael, officially State of Israel, republic (2015 est. pop. 8,065,000, including Israelis in occupied Arab territories), 7,992 sq mi (20,700 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea.
..... Click the link for more information. , he served (1955–65) in Israel's secret service, the Mossad. He helped to found (1973) the conservative Likud party, becoming its leader and prime minister upon the retirement of Menachem BeginBegin, Menachem
, 1913–92, Zionist leader and Israeli prime minister (1977–83), b. Russia. He became (1938) leader of a Zionist youth movement in Poland, where he also earned a law degree.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1983. In office, he promoted continued Jewish settlement of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 1984 and 1988, Likud and Labor formed a government of national unity in which Shamir served as foreign minister (1984–86) and prime minister (1986–90). From 1990 to 1992 Shamir was prime minister of a Likud-led right-wing government.
Bibliography
See his autobiography (1994); H. Misgav, Conversations with Yitzhak Shamir (1997, tr. 2000).