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The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. Head of Government) is the elected head of the Israeli government. He or she is usually the leader of the largest political party or coalition of parties in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Occasionally, the title of "Premier" is used when referring to the Prime Minister.
Historical background At its founding, the State of Israel adopted a British-inspired parliamentary system. The Prime Minister is a powerful political leader of the government while the President of Israel is a largely ceremonial head of state. However, according to the original Basic Law, following elections to the Knesset, it is the President who assigns the task of "forming a Government" to a member of Knesset (conventionally the leader of the party that has won a plurality of Knesset seats), and this individual becomes Prime Minister. For the Prime Minister to successfully form a government, his proposed Cabinet must be approved by at least 61 members (a majority) in the Knesset. The Basic Law was amended in 1992, providing for the direct election of the Prime Minister, separate from the Knesset election. Three elections were held under this system: 1996, 1999, and 2001. (2001 was the only time that a Prime Ministerial election was held without a Knesset election. Thus, from 2001-2003 Ariel Sharon (Likud) was Prime Minister while Labour held a plurality of Knesset seats.) In 2001, the Basic Law was amended again, abolishing direct elections and reverting to the original system. Thus, in 2003 and subsequent elections, the Prime Minister is chosen by a majority in the Knesset. Order of Succession Following the "significant" stroke suffered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in January 2006, a decision was reached by the Israeli Cabinet, under the advice of the Attorney General of Israel to implement the Articles in the Basic Law relevant to the situation. According to the Israeli law, if the Prime Minister becomes incapable of making decisions, power is transferred to the Deputy Prime Minister — at the time, Ehud Olmert — who then becomes Acting Prime Minister until the Prime Minister recovers. According to that same law if the Prime Minister is declared permanently incapacitated then the Acting Prime Minister remains in office for 100 days. Once that period expires the President of Israel oversees the process of assembling a new governing coalition. If the Prime Minister dies, the Cabinet chooses a new Prime Minister*. Elections were already due to occur within 100 days of the beginning of his coma thus the post-election coalition building process pre-empted the emergency provisions for the selection of a new Prime Minister. Olmert was declared Prime Minister-designate as a result of the elections, on April 6. Sharon was to be declared "permanently incapacitated" on Tuesday, April 11th , three days ahead of the 100 day schedule in order to avoid a conflict with Passover but with the proviso that the declaration will not take effect should Sharon's condition improve by Friday.* Officeholders A total of twelve people have served as Prime Minister of Israel. Four of those people have served on two non-consecutive occasions. 1 In 1968 Mapai merged with other parties to form the Labour Alignment (now known as Labour). 2 PM Eshkol died while in office. Yigal Allon briefly served as acting prime minister until he was replaced by Meir. 3 After the election of 1984, the Likud and Labour parties reached a coalition agreement by which the role of prime minister would be rotated mid-term between them. Shimon Peres of Labour served during the first two years as prime minister, and then the role was passed to Yitzhak Shamir. After the 1988 election Likud was able to govern without the Labour party, and Yitzhak Shamir became prime minister again. 4 PM Rabin was assassinated while in office. 5 On 21 November 2005, PM Sharon, along with several other ministers and MKs, split from Likud over the issue of disengagement from the Gaza Strip and negotiations over the final status of the West Bank. Sharon formed a new party, Kadima, that would go on to compete in the following elections of March 2006. Sharon continued as Prime Minister. 6 As the result of Ariel Sharon suffering a severe stroke on January 4 2006, and being put under general anesthetic, Ehud Olmert served as the Acting Prime Minister (Hebrew: ממלא מקום ראש הממשלה) from January 4 * to April 14, according to Basic Law: The Government: "Should the Prime Minister be temporarily unable to discharge his duties, his place will be filled by the Acting Prime Minister. After the passage of 100 days upon which the Prime Minister does not resume his duties, the Prime Minister will be deemed permanently unable to exercise his office." In Sharon's case, this occurred on April 14, 2006, upon which Olmert assumed the office in his own right. * See also Footnotes | ||||||||
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