One of the lesser known Prime Ministers of Israel is Yitzhak Shamir. Shamir took office in October, 1983 and held office for 11 months. He was again elected Prime Minister in October, 1986 and held office until July, 1992. While he held the office for longer than most other Prime Ministers, you do not hear his name come up as often. Maybe that is why he lasted longer?
Shamir, born Yitzhak Jaziernicki, was originally from Russia in an area that is now Belarus. He later moved to Warsaw where he earned a law degree from the Warsaw University. He became affiliated with Beitar at a young age.
In 1935, Shamir moved to Israel and joined the Irgun, a right wing military organization that was later incorporated into the IDF. At the Irgun split in 1940, Shamir sided with the more right wing Lechi Brigade. (I lived on R”H Lechi in Jerusalem). Shamir was in a British Mandate prison from 1941-1943 for his affiliation with the group, and was a top leader when Lechi reformed in 1944. Shamir looked up to Irish Republican Army (IRA) leaders for inspiration in what he saw as a similar fight against the British.
After Israeli Independence, Shamir joined the Mossad for ten years followed by a long political career. Shamir joined Herut in 1969, which later became the Likud party of today. Shamir acted as Speaker of the Knesset and Foreign Minister before becoming Prime Minister in 1983.
Shamir worked with Egypt for peace quite a bit during his first run as Prime Minister. Economic decline led to a mixed election in 1984 and a unity government, led by Shamir (Likud) and Shimon Peres (Alignment), was formed. This allowed both parties to split the top job in Israel for the elected term.
Shamir presided over major events including Operation Solomon, the rescue of Jews from Ethiopia, and the Madrid Peace Talks.
Likud lost the 1992 election and Shamir stepped down as party chair. He stayed in the news as a critic of Benjamin Netanyahu, his successor, and even endorsed a far right wing party in 1998. He endorsed Ariel Sharon in the 2001 election and ceased making public comments after that time.
Shamir is still alive today and remains in Israel. His political career gave him the reputation as an honest politician who always told the truth.
This post is in a series called Prime Ministers in History. The series covers the lives and influence of those who have held Israel’s highest office.
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