Peres elected Israel's president
Shimon Peres was elected Wednesday to the ceremonial presidential post in Israel.
June 13, 2007
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Elder statesman Shimon Peres was elected Israel's ninth president Wednesday, capping a campaign to extend his six-decade political career,the parliament speaker said.
Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner of the ruling Kadima Party, won the support of 86 of parliament's 120 members in a second round of voting in which he stood alone, parliament speaker Dalia Itzik said. His two rivals, Reuven Rivlin of the hawkish Likud and Colette Avital of the centrist Labor, withdrew from the race after he seized a commanding lead in the first round.
Peres, 83, who has held all of Israel's top civilian posts, will be sworn in July 15 for a seven-year term.
In a speech to lawmakers following his victory, Peres said he saw his new role as a unifier of Israel's fractured society.
"The president's role is not to deal with politics and partisanship, but to represent what unites us in a strong voice," he said.
Peres had been seen as a shoo-in to win the post in 2000 -- only to lose to the now-disgraced Moshe Katsav, a political backbencher with the blessing of a prominent rabbi.
The office of president, conceived as a ceremonial post held by a prominent statesman or thinker, has been tainted by allegations that Katsav raped or otherwise sexually assaulted four women employees. Katsav has not been formally charged, pending a final hearing before Israel's attorney general, but has stepped down temporarily to fight the allegations.
Israelis hope that Peres, with his international stature, will be able to restore the stature of the position.
Speaking at parliament ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Kadima said "the history, actions and contributions of Shimon Peres to the State of Israel" made him "a model" for the ideal presidential candidate.
A top aide to Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, Peres was elected to parliament in 1959, then held a series of top posts, including the premiership, as well as minister of defense, finance and foreign affairs.
But he was never elected prime minister outright, serving once in a caretaker role in the 1970s, and once in the 1980s under a rotation agreement with political opponent Yitzhak Shamir after a general election failed to produce a clear winner. He served as premier again in the 1990s after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.
Age has not been a negative factor in the race, and if anything, Peres is widely seen as having the gravitas the position demands.
The vote for president came after former Prime Minister Ehud Barak won the leadership of the Labor Party in a dramatic political comeback. Tossed out of office six years ago in a humiliating election defeat, Barak beat former navy commander Ami Ayalon by more than 3 percentage points, party officials said Wednesday. (Full story)
June 13, 2007
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Elder statesman Shimon Peres was elected Israel's ninth president Wednesday, capping a campaign to extend his six-decade political career,the parliament speaker said.
Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner of the ruling Kadima Party, won the support of 86 of parliament's 120 members in a second round of voting in which he stood alone, parliament speaker Dalia Itzik said. His two rivals, Reuven Rivlin of the hawkish Likud and Colette Avital of the centrist Labor, withdrew from the race after he seized a commanding lead in the first round.
Peres, 83, who has held all of Israel's top civilian posts, will be sworn in July 15 for a seven-year term.
In a speech to lawmakers following his victory, Peres said he saw his new role as a unifier of Israel's fractured society.
"The president's role is not to deal with politics and partisanship, but to represent what unites us in a strong voice," he said.
Peres had been seen as a shoo-in to win the post in 2000 -- only to lose to the now-disgraced Moshe Katsav, a political backbencher with the blessing of a prominent rabbi.
The office of president, conceived as a ceremonial post held by a prominent statesman or thinker, has been tainted by allegations that Katsav raped or otherwise sexually assaulted four women employees. Katsav has not been formally charged, pending a final hearing before Israel's attorney general, but has stepped down temporarily to fight the allegations.
Israelis hope that Peres, with his international stature, will be able to restore the stature of the position.
Speaking at parliament ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Kadima said "the history, actions and contributions of Shimon Peres to the State of Israel" made him "a model" for the ideal presidential candidate.
A top aide to Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, Peres was elected to parliament in 1959, then held a series of top posts, including the premiership, as well as minister of defense, finance and foreign affairs.
But he was never elected prime minister outright, serving once in a caretaker role in the 1970s, and once in the 1980s under a rotation agreement with political opponent Yitzhak Shamir after a general election failed to produce a clear winner. He served as premier again in the 1990s after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.
Age has not been a negative factor in the race, and if anything, Peres is widely seen as having the gravitas the position demands.
The vote for president came after former Prime Minister Ehud Barak won the leadership of the Labor Party in a dramatic political comeback. Tossed out of office six years ago in a humiliating election defeat, Barak beat former navy commander Ami Ayalon by more than 3 percentage points, party officials said Wednesday. (Full story)
Barak now begins the race for the real prize -- a return to the nation's top job, which he held for less than two years. But he is expected to bide his time, first remaining in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government to burnish his leadership credentials.
Labels: Israel
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 6:30 PM
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