BARACK Ehud (Barak Ehud)

(p. 1942)
Born February 12, 1942 in Kibbutz Mishmar-Nasharon in Palestine. In 1959 he was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, served in the Army Special Forces. He graduated from the Jewish University in Jerusalem in 1968, receiving a degree in mathematics and physics. Ten years later he graduated from Stanford University with a specialty economist. He participated in military actions during the Six Day War in 1967 and in the Arab-Israeli conflict 1973. He was appointed chief of army intelligence. Until his retirement in 1991 served as Chief of Staff. Participated in the preparation of the signing of a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. Shortly after his resignation he was appointed interior minister in the cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin (1995). In the office of Shimon Peres served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995-1996). In June 1997, became the leader of the Labor Party ( "Labor"). In December 1998, Barak began a campaign for the post of prime minister, expressing their support for the peace process and limiting the influence of religious fundamentalism on political decision-making. He headed a coalition of 'One Israel'. May 17, 1999 won the election, receiving 56% of votes. At the same time in the elections to the Knesset a significant number of votes received centrists, which limited the influence of ultra-orthodox faction. In his inaugural speech in July 1999, Barak called for a decisive step towards a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. In September 1999, Barak and Yasser Arafat signed an agreement on the continuation of peace talks, which defines the date of signing a peace treaty (February 2000). Began peace talks with Syria.
In January 2000, began an investigation of Barack on charges of violating the legislation on elections. In July 2000 a coalition government took three games, turning him into a minority government. In December 2000, Barak resigned as prime minister, left before the election, the acting head of government. In the elections in February 2001, defeated the candidate of the Likud, Ariel Sharon.