Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak , 1942-, Israeli military and political leader, prime minister of Israel (1999-). The son of East European immigrants in Palestine, he was born Ehud Brog, later adopting the Hebrew name Barak [lightning]. Barak began his military service in 1959, became a major general in 1982, and by 1991 had risen to become the youngest army chief of staff in Israeli history. Known for his bravery, Barak led two successful commando raids, one that stormed a hijacked Belgian airliner (1972), the other that destroyed a terrorist cell in Beirut (1976). As army head, he was instrumental in building a more streamlined and technologically advanced force. He retired in 1994 and that year joined the Labor party.

Barak began his political career (1995) as interior minister in the cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin , his military and political mentor, and was (1995-96) foreign minister under Shimon Peres . He assumed leadership of the Labor party in 1997, decisively defeated the Likud prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1999, and formed a seven-party coalition government; three right-of-center parties pulled out of the government in 2000. Like Rabin, another soldier turned prime minister, Barak advocated a strong, peace-seeking, and inclusive Israel (under his leadership Labor was renamed the One Israel party) and avowed a willingness to make concessions to the Palestinians and to Arab states if necessary for peace and security.

After the breakdown of negotiations with the Palestinians and the resumption of violence (Sept., 2000), as well as the splintering of his coalition, Barak resigned (Dec., 2000) to force an early election for prime minister in an attempt to regain public support, but in Feb., 2001, he was soundly defeated by Likud candidate Ariel Sharon . After his electoral rout, Barak bowed out of politics. In 2007 he made a comeback when he won the leadership of the Labor party and became defense minister under Ehud Olmert , espousing more hard-line approach to Palestinian relations.

Bibliography: See biography by I. Kfir (1999).

Barak, Ehud (1942– ) Israeli statesman, prime minister (1999–2001). Barak was chief of staff (1991–94) of the Israeli Defence Forces before joining the cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin. He succeeded Shimon Peres as leader of the Labour Party. Despite the optimism that greeted Barak's landslide victory over Binyamin Netanyahu in the 1999 elections, there was little progress towards peace with the Palestinians. In May 2000, he withdrew Israeli troops from s Lebanon. Escalating violent clashes with the Palestinians dented Barak's popularity, and Ariel Sharon, leader of Likud, defeated him in elections.

Barak, Ehud (b. 12 Feb. 1942). Prime Minister of Israel, 1999–2001 Born in Mishmar Hasharon of Polish immigrants, he joined the military in 1959 and advanced quickly through the ranks of the army. In 1972 he made the headlines through his daring and successful storming of a Belgian airliner in Tel Aviv after it had been hijacked by the PLO. Further such commands followed, including the risky Entebbe raid. He advanced to the military command in the 1980s, and became chief of military intelligence. He left the military in 1995, and became Minister of the Interior under Rabin. A few months later he succeeded Peres as Foreign Minister. One year later, following Netanyahu's election victory which was seen as a defeat of the old guard of the Labour Party, he was elected leader of the opposition. Only Israel's most-decorated general, it was felt, could support peace negotiations with Arafat while safeguarding the country's security. On this ticket, he defeated Netanyahu decisively in 1999. His government, however, enjoyed only a very uncertain majority in Parliament. He withdrew the army from southern Lebanon after almost twenty years of occupation. He also rekindled the Wye accord, and resumed negotiations with the Palestinians. However, growing violence by Hamas in the Intifadah led many Israelis to question his judgement. After a series of defections from his government he called new elections, which he lost to Sharon.