Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister in history.
He was sworn in for his sixth term in December 2022, 18 months after he was ousted from power.
Netanyahu became Israel’s youngest-ever prime minister in 1996 and served until 1999. He led Israel’s government for a second time from 2009-2021.
In July 2023, he was fitted with a pacemaker.
A 17-year-old Netanyahu, right, sits with a friend at the entrance to his family home in Jerusalem in 1967. Netanyahu spent his teenage years in the United States, going to high school in Philadelphia. Israeli Government Press Office/Getty ImagesNetanyahu, right, poses with a friend in the Judean Desert in 1968.
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Netanyahu serves in the Sayeret Matkal, an elite commando unit of the Israeli army, in 1971. He spent five years in the unit.
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Netanyahu shakes hands with Israeli President Zalman Shazar during a 1972 ceremony honoring Sayeret Matkal soldiers who freed hostages in a hijacking earlier that year.
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Netanyahu and his first wife, Miriam, in 1980. Israeli Government Press Office/Getty ImagesNetanyahu and his daughter, Noa, in 1980. Netanyahu has three children in all.
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In 1986, Netanyahu speaks with Sorin Hershko, one of the Israeli soldiers wounded in Operation Entebbe. It was the 10th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, a dramatic rescue of Jewish hostages at Uganda’s Entebbe Airport. Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was killed leading Operation Entebbe in 1976. Affected by his brother’s death, Netanyahu organized two international conferences on ways to combat terrorism — one in 1979 and another in 1984.
In 1986, Netanyahu speaks with Sorin Hershko, one of the Israeli soldiers wounded in Operation Entebbe. It was the 10th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, a dramatic rescue of Jewish hostages at Uganda’s Entebbe Airport. Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was killed leading Operation Entebbe in 1976. Affected by his brother’s death, Netanyahu organized two international conferences on ways to combat terrorism — one in 1979 and another in 1984. Yaakov Saar/Israeli Government Press Office/Getty Images
From 1984 to 1988, Netanyahu was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. Don Emmert/AFP/Getty ImagesNetanyahu talks to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir while visiting New York’s Central Park in 1987.
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Netanyahu, as Israel’s deputy foreign minister, goes through some papers as Government Secretary Elyakim Rubinstein recites morning prayers during a flight to Washington, DC, in 1989. Israeli Government Press Office/GettyShamir speaks with Netanyahu at a Middle East peace conference in Madrid in 1991. Patrick Baz/AFP/GettyImagesNetanyahu celebrates after being elected chairman of the right-wing Likud party on March 21, 1993.
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Netanyahu and former foreign minister David Levy sit in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, during the vote for a new Israeli President on March 24, 1993.
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Netanyahu meets with King Hussein of Jordan, center, and Crown Prince Hassan in 1994. It was Netanyahu’s first visit to Jordan.
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Netanyahu shakes hands with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres before taking the office himself in June 1996. At 46 years old, Netanyahu was the youngest-ever Israeli prime minister.
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Netanyahu meets with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the first time in September 1996. They met at an Israeli army base at the Erez Checkpoint in Gaza.
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Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington, DC, in February 1997.
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Netanyahu spends the day on the beach with his wife, Sara, and son Avner in Caesarea, Israel, in August 1997.
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Actor Kirk Douglas holds the King David Award, presented to him by the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah during a dinner in Beverly Hills, California, in November 1997. Douglas was honored for his inspirational commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. PETER HALMAGY/AFP/Getty ImagesNetanyahu looks through binoculars as he and the Israeli Cabinet tour the West Bank in December 1997.
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Netanyahu and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan meet in Annan’s office in New York in May 1998.
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From left, Arafat, King Hussein, US President Bill Clinton and Netanyahu sign an interim Middle East peace agreement in October 1998.
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Netanyahu thanks a crowd of supporters at a Likud party meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May 1999. The outgoing Prime Minister announced that he was quitting the Knesset and stepping down as party leader 10 days after being defeated in elections.
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Netanyahu testifies before a US House committee on September 20, 2001. The committee was conducting hearings on terrorism following the September 11 attacks.
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Netanyahu, as Israel’s foreign minister, laughs with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the start of a Likud convention in Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 2002.
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Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are seen at a polling station in Jerusalem in August 2007. He was once again elected as head of the Likud party.
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Netanyahu shakes hands with Israeli President Shimon Peres in February 2009 after winning backing from the Israeli parliament to become prime minister again. A close election between Netanyahu and rival Tzipi Livni had left the results unclear until the parliament’s decision.From left, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II walk to the East Room of the White House to make statements on the Middle East peace process in September 2010.
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Obama meets with Netanyahu at the White House in September 2010.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks on as Abbas and Netanyahu shake hands in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in September 2010 during a second round of Middle East peace talks.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes Netanyahu to No. 10 Downing Street in London in May 2011.
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Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the US Congress in May 2011. He stated that he was prepared to make “painful compromises” for a peace settlement with the Palestinians.Netanyahu uses a diagram of a bomb to describe Iran’s nuclear program during an address to the UN General Assembly in September 2012.Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman greet supporters at the election night in January 2013.
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Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly in October 2013, accusing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon.In December 2014, Netanyahu called for early elections as he fired two key ministers for opposing government policy.
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Netanyahu is greeted by members of US Congress as he arrives to speak in the House chamber in March 2015.Netanyahu and his family take a vacation in southern Israel in April 2015.Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talk in Berlin in October 2015.
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Netanyahu speaks to the press in Tel Aviv in June 2016, a day after a terror attack claimed four lives in the city.Netanyahu stands next to US President Barack Obama during the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres.
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Netanyahu visits Moriah College in Sydney in February 2017, marking the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to Australia.
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Netanyahu speaks to US President Donald Trump in May 2017 during Trump’s first foreign trip to Israel.
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Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, pose for a photo at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in January 2018.
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Netanyahu holds up what he claimed was a piece of an Iranian drone that was shot down after entering Israeli airspace during a speech at a conference.In April 2018, Netanyahu accused Iran of “brazenly lying” about its nuclear ambitions, stating that Israel had uncovered files proving his claims.Netanyahu sits beside US President Donald Trump and other senior officials during the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem in May 2018.
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Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a discussion in Moscow in February 2019.
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The Netanyahus cast their votes during Israeli elections in April 2019, marking a crucial moment in Netanyahu’s political journey.
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Netanyahu greets supporters after the elections, reflecting on his political support within Israel.An election banner on a Jerusalem building highlights the strong ties between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.
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Netanyahu meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in September 2019, reaffirming diplomatic relations.Netanyahu and Israeli Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz shake hands during a memorial ceremony for former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, attend a celebration in Tel Aviv after the Likud party’s performance in the general election.
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Netanyahu participates in the signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and UAE and Bahrain in September 2020.Netanyahu receives a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Ramat Gan, Israel, in January 2021.
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Netanyahu arrives at a Jerusalem courtroom during the evidence-hearing stage of his corruption trial in April 2021.Netanyahu briefs ambassadors at a military base in Tel Aviv after a surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians in May 2021.Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May 2021 as part of regional talks addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Netanyahu delivers a statement after a coalition agreement was announced that would end his 12-year grip on power.In June 2021, Netanyahu attends a special session as the new government led by Naftali Bennett takes shape.Netanyahu speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Bnei Brak, Israel, in October 2022.
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Netanyahu, with his wife, casts his ballot at a polling station in Jerusalem ahead of the elections in November 2022.
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Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog pose with members of the new government in December 2022 after Netanyahu’s swearing-in ceremony.Protesters demonstrate in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s government in April 2023, highlighting ongoing public dissent over proposed legal changes.Netanyahu addresses lawmakers during a Knesset session in July 2023, following significant legislative changes amidst widespread protests.
