List of prime ministers of Israel

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The prime minister of Israel is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel.

  • David Ben-Gurion (top left) was the first prime minister of Israel.
  • Benjamin Netanyahu (top right) is the longest-serving and incumbent prime minister, as well as the first Israeli prime minister to be born in the State of Israel after its independence.
  • Yair Lapid (bottom left) is considered the shortest-serving prime minister. If acting prime ministers are counted, however, that title goes to Yigal Allon.
  • Golda Meir (bottom right) was the first female prime minister 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)

  Mapai/Alignment/Labor (7)       Herut/Likud (4)       Kadima (2)       Yamina (1)        Yesh Atid (1)
No. Name
(Lifespan) 		Portrait Political party Term of office Elected
(Knesset) 		Government
No. Composition
1 David Ben-Gurion
(1886–1973) 		Mapai 14 May 1948 10 March 1949 — Prov. Mapai • Mapam • HHaM • New Aliyah • S&O • Mizrachi • Gen.Zionists • Aguda
10 March 1949 1 November 1950 1949 (1st) 1st Mapai • URF • Progressives • S&O • DLN
1 November 1950 8 October 1951 2nd
8 October 1951 24 December 1952 1951 (2nd) 3rd Mapai • Mizrachi • HHaM-Aguda-PAY • DLIA-P&W-A&D
24 December 1952 7 December 1953 4th Mapai • Gen.Zionists • Progressive • Mizrachi • HHaM • DLIA-P&W-A&D
2 Moshe Sharett
(1894–1965) 		Mapai 7 December 1953 26 January 1954
26 January 1954 29 June 1955 5th
29 June 1955 3 November 1955 6th Mapai • Mizrachi • HHaM • DLIA-P&W-A&D
(1) David Ben-Gurion
(1886–1973) 		Mapai 3 November 1955 7 January 1958 1955 (3rd) 7th Mapai • NRP • Mapam • AHaA • Progressives • DLIA-P&W-A&D • P&D-C&B[11]
7 January 1958 17 December 1959 8th
17 December 1959 2 November 1961 1959 (4th) 9th
2 November 1961 26 June 1963 1961 (5th) 10th Mapai • NRP • AHaA • PAY • P&D-C&B
3 Levi Eshkol
(1895–1969) 		Mapai 26 June 1963 22 December 1964 11th
22 December 1964 12 January 1966 12th
Alignment[1]
Mapai/Labor 		12 January 1966 26 February 1969[2] 1965 (6th) 13th Alignment • NRP • Mapam • Indep.Liberals • PAY • P&D-C&B • Gahal[11] • Rafi[11]
— Yigal Allon
(1918–1980)
Acting 		Alignment
Labor 		26 February 1969[2] 17 March 1969
4 Golda Meir
(1898–1978) 		Alignment
Labor 		17 March 1969 15 December 1969 14th
15 December 1969 10 March 1974 1969 (7th) 15th Alignment • Gahal[11] • NRP • Indep.Liberals • P&D-C&B
10 March 1974 3 June 1974 1973 (8th) 16th Alignment • NRP • Indep.Liberals
5 Yitzhak Rabin
(1922–1995) 		Alignment
Labor 		3 June 1974 20 June 1977[3] 17th Alignment • Indep.Liberals • Ratz[11] • NRP[11]
6 Menachem Begin
(1913–1992) 		Herut
Likud[4] 		20 June 1977 5 August 1981 1977 (9th) 18th Likud • NRP • Aguda • Dash[11]
5 August 1981 10 October 1983 1981 (10th) 19th Likud • NRP • Aguda • Tami • Telem/MRSZ[11] • Tehiya[11]
7 Yitzhak Shamir
(1915–2012) 		Herut
Likud[4] 		10 October 1983 13 September 1984 20th
8 Shimon Peres
(1923–2016) 		Alignment
Labor 		13 September 1984[5] 20 October 1986 1984 (11th) 21st Alignment • Likud • NRP • Aguda • Shas • Morasha[11] • Shinui • Ometz
(7) Yitzhak Shamir
(1915–2012) 		Herut
Likud[4] 		20 October 1986[5] 22 December 1988 22nd
Likud[4] 22 December 1988 11 June 1990 1988 (12th) 23rd Likud • Alignment • NRP • Shas • Aguda • Degel HaTorah
11 June 1990 13 July 1992 24th Likud • NRP • Shas • Aguda • Degel HaTorah • New Liberal • Tehiya • Tzomet • Moledet • UPI • Geula
(5) Yitzhak Rabin
(1922–1995) 		Labor 13 July 1992 4 November 1995[6] 1992 (13th) 25th Labor • Meretz • Shas[11] • Yiud[11]
— Shimon Peres
(1923–2016) 		Labor 4 November 1995[6] 22 November 1995 26th
(8) 22 November 1995 18 June 1996
9 Benjamin Netanyahu
(born 1949) 		Likud 18 June 1996 6 July 1999 1996 (14th) 27th Likud-Gesher-Tzomet • Shas • NRP • BaAliyah • UTJ • Third Way
10 Ehud Barak
(born 1942) 		One Israel
Labor 		6 July 1999 7 March 2001 1999 (15th) 28th One Israel • Shas • Meretz • BaAliyah • Centre • NRP • UTJ[11]


11 		Ariel Sharon
(1928–2014) 		Likud 7 March 2001 28 February 2003 2001 29th Likud • Labor-Meimad[11] • Shas[11] • Centre • NRP • UTJ • BaAliyah • NU-Beiteinu • New Way • Gesher
28 February 2003 21 November 2005[7] 2003 (16th) 30th Likud • Shinui[11] • NU[11] • NRP[11] • Labor-Meimad • Aguda[11]
Kadima 21 November 2005[7] (4 January 2006)[8]
14 April 2006 		Kadima • Likud[11] • Aguda
— Ehud Olmert
(born 1945) 		Kadima 4 January 2006[8] 14 April 2006
12 14 April 2006 4 May 2006
4 May 2006 31 March 2009[9] 2006 (17th) 31st Kadima • Labor • Shas • Gil • Beiteinu[11]
(9) Benjamin Netanyahu
(born 1949) 		Likud 31 March 2009 18 March 2013 2009 (18th) 32nd Likud • Beiteinu • Shas • Labor/Indep.[11] • Jewish Home • UTJ[11]
18 March 2013 6 May 2015 2013 (19th) 33rd Likud • Yesh Atid • The Jewish Home • Yisrael Beiteinu • Hatnuah
6 May 2015 9 April 2019 2015 (20th) 34th Likud • Kulanu • The Jewish Home • Shas • UTJ • Yisrael Beiteinu[11]
— 9 April 2019 17 May 2020 Apr 2019 (21st)
Sep 2019 (22nd)
(9) 17 May 2020 13 June 2021 2020 (23rd) 35th Likud • Blue and White • Shas • UTJ • Labor • Derekh Eretz[11] • Gesher • The Jewish Home
13 Naftali Bennett
(born 1972) 		Yamina 13 June 2021 30 June 2022[10] 2021 (24th) 36th Yesh Atid • Blue and White • Yamina • Labor • Yisrael Beiteinu • New Hope • Meretz • United Arab List
14 Yair Lapid
(born 1963) 		Yesh Atid 1 July 2022 29 December 2022
(9) Benjamin Netanyahu
(born 1949) 		Likud 29 December 2022 Incumbent 2022 (25th) 37th Likud • Shas[11] • UTJ[11] • Religious Zionism • Otzma Yehudit[11] • Noam[11] • National Unity[11] • New Hope[11]

Notes

1 For the 1965 elections, Mapai allied with Ahdut HaAvoda to form the Labor Alignment, later renamed Alignment. This first Alignment ended when Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi merged to form the Labor Party on 23 January 1968. On 28 January 1969, Labor formed a second Alignment in alliance with Mapam.

2 Eshkol died while in office. Yigal Allon briefly served as acting prime minister until he was replaced by Meir.

3 Rabin resigned and called for early elections in December 1976. After he was re-elected as the Alignment's leader, he resigned as candidate for the upcoming elections on 7 April 1977, but legally remained prime minister until Begin's first government was formed. However, Shimon Peres unofficially served as acting prime minister from 22 April 1977 until 21 June 1977.

4 Until 1988, Likud was simply an electoral alliance between Herut and the Liberal Party, much like Alignment. A single united Likud party was only established in 1988.

5 After the 1984 elections, Likud and the Alignment reached a coalition agreement by which the role of prime minister would be rotated mid-term between them. Shimon Peres of the Alignment served as prime minister for the first two years, and then the role was passed to Yitzhak Shamir. After the 1988 election Likud was able to govern without the Alignment, and Yitzhak Shamir continued as prime minister.

6 Rabin was assassinated while in office. Shimon Peres served as acting prime minister until 22 November 1995.

7 On 21 November 2005, Prime Minister 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, which would go on to compete in the following elections of March 2006. Sharon continued as prime minister.

8 As the result of Ariel Sharon suffering a severe stroke on 4 January 2006, and being put under general anesthetic, Ehud Olmert served as the Acting Prime Minister (Hebrew: ממלא מקום ראש הממשלה בפועל) from 4 January to 14 April, 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." Basic Law: the Government 2001, section 16b In Sharon's case, this occurred on 14 April 2006, upon which Olmert became interim prime minister for the remainder of the 30th government, finally becoming full prime minister on the formation of the 31st government.

9 Olmert officially resigned on 21 September 2008. With this, his cabinet became an interim government, and he was Interim Prime Minister until the establishment of a new governing coalition (he was officially the Prime Minister, however, the government under him was an interim government, in this case).

10 Under the coalition agreement establishing the thirty-sixth government of Israel, Naftali Bennett's tenure as prime minister concluded at the end of 30 June 2022 and Yair Lapid took office at the beginning of 1 July 2022.

11 The following parties were members of a government during only part of its term:

  • 9th: Progress and Development and Cooperation and Brotherhood, two new parties, were members of the 9th government, which was otherwise identical in composition to the 7th and 8th governments.
  • 13th: Gahal and Rafi joined 5 June 1967. Rafi merged into Labor (a member of the Alignment) 23 January 1968.
  • 15th: Gahal stood down 6 August 1970.
  • 17th: National Religious Party joined 30 October 1970; Ratz stood down 6 November 1970.
  • 18th: Democratic Movement for Change joined October 1977.
  • 19th: Tehiya joined 26 August 1981; the Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism was formed 6 June 1983 following the break-up of Telem.
  • 22nd: Morasha was not included in the 22nd government, which was otherwise identical in composition to the 21st government.
  • 25th: Shas stood down 14 September 1993; Yiud joined 9 January 1995.
  • 28th: United Torah Judaism stood down September 1999.
  • 29th: Shas stood down 23 May 2002, returned 3 June; Labor-Meimad stood down 2 November 2002.
  • 30th: National Religious Party joined 3 March 2003, stood down 11 November 2004; National Union stood down 6 June 2004; Shinui stood down 4 December 2004; Labor-Meimad joined 10 January 2005; Agudat Yisrael joined 30 March 2005; Kadima broke away from Likud and Labor-Meimad stood down 23 November 2005, leaving a government consisting of Kadima, Likud and Agudat Yisrael; Likud stood down 15 January 2006.
  • 31st: Yisrael Beiteinu joined November 2006; stood down 16 January 2008.
  • 32nd: United Torah Judaism joined 1 April 2009; Independence broke away from Labor 17 January 2011; Independence remained in the government and Labor stood down.
  • 34th: Yisrael Beiteinu joined 30 May 2016; stood down 18 November 2018; New Right split from The Jewish Home on 29 December 2018 and remained in gov't until 2 June 2019, returning on 8 November 2019; Kulanu merged into Likud on 31 July 2019; The Jewish Home merged with Tkuma and Otzma Yehudit on 21 February 2019 to become the Union of Right-Wing Parties; On 15 January 2020, New Right and URWP merged to become Yamina.
  • 35th: Of the three Labor MKs, one (Merav Michaeli) sat in opposition; Derekh Eretz stood down 16 December 2020.
  • 37th: Noam stood down 28 February 2023, returned on 25 May 2023, and stood down again 24 March 2025. National Unity joined 12 October 2023 and stood down 9 June 2024. New Hope split from National Unity on 13 March 2024, stood down 25 March, and returned on 29 September 2024. Otzma Yehudit stood down 21 January 2025 and returned 19 March 2025. United Torah Judaism stood down 15 July 2025, while Shas stood down 17 July, but remained part of the parliamentary coalition.

Tenure of office in years

  1. Benjamin Netanyahu: 18 years, 80 days as of 17 December 2025 (first tenure: 3 years and 18 days; second tenure: 12 years and 74 days; third tenure: 2 years, 353 days)
  2. David Ben-Gurion: 13 years and 127 days (first tenure: 5 years and 257 days; second tenure: 7 years and 235 days)
  3. Yitzhak Shamir: 6 years and 242 days (first tenure: 339 days; second tenure: 5 years and 268 days)
  4. Yitzhak Rabin: 6 years and 132 days (first tenure: 3 years and 18 days; second tenure: 3 years and 114 days)
  5. Menachem Begin: 6 years and 113 days
  6. Levi Eshkol: 5 years and 247 days
  7. Ariel Sharon: 5 years and 39 days
  8. Golda Meir: 5 years and 19 days
  9. Ehud Olmert: 2 years and 351 days
  10. Shimon Peres: 2 years and 264 days (first tenure: 2 years and 37 days; second tenure: 227 days)
  11. Moshe Sharett: 1 year and 281 days
  12. Ehud Barak: 1 year and 245 days
  13. Naftali Bennett: 1 year and 17 days
  14. Yair Lapid: 181 days
  15. Yigal Allon: 19 days (acting)
Notes
  1. Rabin's first tenure includes a period of 60 days at the end wherein Rabin had stepped aside and Peres was the de facto prime minister. Due to the government being a caretaker government and laws preventing caretaker prime ministers from resigning, Rabin remained prime minister de jure during the period.
  2. Sharon's premiership includes a period of 100 days of "temporary incapacitation" wherein Sharon retained the title of Prime Minister, but the authorities of the office were delegated to the Designated Acting Prime Minister
  3. Olmert's premiership excludes a period of 100 days wherein Olmert was given the authority of the Prime Minister, in his capacity as the Acting Prime Minister, while the serving prime minister was "temporarily incapacitated"
  4. Peres' premiership excludes a period of 60 days in 1977 wherein Peres was heading a caretaker government as de facto prime minister. Due to laws preventing a caretaker prime minister from resigning, Yitzhak Rabin was still the prime minister de jure despite surrendering his duties to Peres.
  5. Peres' second tenure includes a period of 18 days in November 1995 wherein he was the acting prime minister of the twenty-fifth government (the interim period between the assassination of Rabin and the formation of the twenty-sixth government)

Timeline

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

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