The prime minister of Israel is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel.
Since the adoption of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, 14 people have served as the prime minister of Israel, five of whom have served on two or three non-consecutive occasions. Additionally, one person, Yigal Allon, has served solely as an acting prime minister. The other two who have served as acting prime minister have gone on to become the prime minister. Of these individuals, Golda Meir (prime minister from 1969–74) is the only woman to have served in the office.
The incumbent prime minister of Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu, who assumed office on 29 December 2022. He also held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Having served for more than 18 years, Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Israel.
Prime ministers of Israel (1948–present) Legend:
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Government Took office Left office Time in office Composition 1 David Ben-Gurion 14 May 1948 10 March 1949 Mapai —Prov. 10 March 1949 1 November 19501949 () 1 November 1950 8 October 1951 8 October 1951 24 December 19521951 () 24 December 1952 7 December 1953 — Moshe Sharett 7 December 1953 26 January 1954 Mapai 2 26 January 1954 29 June 1955 29 June 1955 3 November 1955 David Ben-Gurion 3 November 1955 7 January 1958 Mapai1955 () 7 January 1958 17 December 1959 17 December 1959 2 November 19611959 () 2 November 1961 26 June 19631961 () 3 Levi Eshkol 26 June 1963 22 December 1964 Mapai 22 December 1964 12 January 1966 12 January 1966 26 February 1969Alignment1965 () — Yigal Allon 26 February 1969 17 March 1969 Alignment 4 Golda Meir 17 March 1969 15 December 1969 Alignment 15 December 1969 10 March 19741969 () 10 March 1974 3 June 19741973 () 5 Yitzhak Rabin 3 June 1974 21 June 1977 Alignment 6 Menachem Begin 21 June 1977 5 August 1981 Herut1977 () 5 August 1981 10 October 19831981 () 7 Yitzhak Shamir 10 October 1983 13 September 1984 Herut 8 Shimon Peres 13 September 1984 20 October 1986 Alignment1984 () Yitzhak Shamir 20 October 1986 22 December 1988 Herut 22 December 1988 11 June 1990Likud1988 () 11 June 1990 13 July 1992 Yitzhak Rabin 13 July 1992 4 November 1995 Labor1992 () — Shimon Peres 4 November 1995 22 November 1995 Labor 22 November 1995 18 June 1996 9 Benjamin Netanyahu 18 June 1996 6 July 1999 Likud1996 () 10 Ehud Barak 6 July 1999 7 March 2001 One Israel 1999() 11 Ariel Sharon 7 March 2001 28 February 2003 Likud 2001 28 February 2003 21 November 20052003 () 21 November 2005 (4 January 2006)14 April 2006 Kadima— Ehud Olmert 4 January 2006 14 April 2006 Kadima 14 April 2006 4 May 2006 12 4 May 2006 31 March 2009 2006 () Benjamin Netanyahu 31 March 2009 18 March 2013 Likud 2009 () 18 March 2013 6 May 20152013 () 6 May 2015 9 April 20192015 () — 9 April 2019 17 May 2020 2019 () 2019 () 17 May 2020 13 June 2021 2020 () 13 Naftali Bennett 13 June 2021 30 June 2022 Yamina2021 () 14 Yair Lapid 1 July 2022 29 December 2022 Yesh Atid Benjamin Netanyahu 29 December 2022 Incumbent Likud2022 ()
Tenure of office in years
List of prime ministers by tenure As of 2026, there have been fourteen individuals to serve as prime minister of Israel across twenty one occasions and thirty seven distinct governments. Of these, Benjamin Netanyahu served the most periods (three: 1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022 onwards), whilst Yigal Allon served solely as an acting prime minister in 1969. Golda Meir (1969–74) is the only woman to have served in the office.
The following is a list of prime ministers by total time in office: Benjamin Netanyahu: as of (first tenure: 3 years and 18 days; second tenure: 12 years and 74 days; third tenure: ) David Ben-Gurion: 13 years and 127 days (first tenure: 5 years and 257 days; second tenure: 7 years and 235 days) Yitzhak Shamir: 6 years and 242 days (first tenure: 339 days; second tenure: 5 years and 268 days) Yitzhak Rabin: 6 years and 132 days (first tenure: 3 years and 18 days; second tenure: 3 years and 114 days) Menachem Begin: 6 years and 113 days Levi Eshkol: 5 years and 247 days Ariel Sharon: 5 years and 39 days Golda Meir: 5 years and 19 days Ehud Olmert: 2 years and 351 days Shimon Peres: 2 years and 264 days (first tenure: 2 years and 37 days; second tenure: 227 days) Moshe Sharett: 1 year and 281 days Ehud Barak: 1 year and 245 days Naftali Bennett: 1 year and 17 days Yair Lapid: 181 days Yigal Allon: 19 days (acting)
Timeline of prime ministers This is a graphical lifespan timeline of prime ministers of Israel. The prime ministers are listed in order of office, with prime ministers who held the office more than once listed in order of their first term.
See also List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel List of presidents of Israel List of prime ministers of Israel by place of birth Prime Minister of Israel
Notes and references
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