Ariel Sharon 2001–2006·Storied general turned Likud leader; carried out Israel's 2005 Gaza disengagement and then founded the centrist Kadima party before being incapacitated by a stroke in January 2006.
Benjamin Netanyahu 1996–1999, 2009–2021, 2022–present·Former IDF commando and UN ambassador; Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister, whose later terms included the 2020 Abraham Accords and the war following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, alongside an ongoing corruption trial.
David Ben-Gurion 1948–1953, 1955–1963·Polish-born Zionist labor leader who led the pre-state Jewish Agency; as founding Prime Minister he declared independence in 1948, led Israel through the War of Independence, and oversaw the IDF's founding and mass immigration.
Ehud Barak 1999–2001·Israel's most decorated soldier and a former IDF Chief of Staff; withdrew Israeli forces from Lebanon in 2000 but failed to reach a final deal with the Palestinians at the Camp David 2000 summit.
Ehud Olmert 2006–2009·Former Jerusalem mayor and Likud-turned-Kadima minister who succeeded Sharon; led the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the 2008–09 Gaza operation, then resigned amid corruption charges that later led to prison time.
Golda Meir 1969–1974·Milwaukee-raised Labor Zionist and former Foreign Minister who became Israel's first female Prime Minister; resigned in 1974 amid criticism that her government was unprepared for the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Levi Eshkol 1963–1969·Mapai co-founder and longtime Finance Minister behind Israel's National Water Carrier; led Israel through the June 1967 Six-Day War and died of a heart attack while in office.
Menachem Begin 1977–1983·Pre-state Irgun commander and Likud founder who led the first non-Labor government in Israel's history; signed the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty with Anwar Sadat, sharing the Nobel Peace Prize.
Moshe Sharett 1954–1955·Former Foreign Minister and chief negotiator of the 1949 Armistice Agreements; resigned as Prime Minister after clashing with Ben-Gurion and the military over the 1954 Lavon Affair.
Naftali Bennett 2021–2022·Former tech entrepreneur and IDF officer leading the religious-nationalist Yamina party; formed a broad coalition that ousted Netanyahu in 2021, though the government collapsed before his planned rotation handoff could complete.
Shimon Peres 1984–1986, 1995–1996·Longtime Defense and Foreign Ministry official; shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Oslo Accords and briefly became Prime Minister again after Rabin's assassination, before losing the 1996 election.
Yair Lapid 2022 (caretaker, Jul–Dec)·Former journalist and TV personality who founded the centrist Yesh Atid party; served as caretaker Prime Minister under the Bennett rotation deal, notably concluding a maritime border deal with Lebanon, before losing to Netanyahu.
Yitzhak Rabin 1974–1977, 1992–1995·Former IDF Chief of Staff who led Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War; in his second term signed the Oslo Accords and the Israel–Jordan peace treaty before being assassinated in November 1995.
Yitzhak Shamir 1983–1984, 1986–1992·Former Lehi underground leader turned diplomat; his government absorbed a huge wave of Soviet Jewish immigration and hosted the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, Israel's first direct talks with Arab neighbors.
