Shimon Peres, Former President of Israel and Last Surviving Founding Father, Dies at 93

Shimon Peres, former Israeli Prime Minister and President, died yesterday at the age of 93 from complications from a stroke.

Shimon Perez

Shimon Peres, born in Poland, moved to Israel (then ruled by the British Mandate) in 1934. Peres led Israel's Defense Ministry in his 20's. He was first elected to Parliament in 1959 and later held every major Cabinet post (Defense, Finance and Foreign Affairs) as well as serving two brief terms as Prime Minister. He was a prominent leader in Israeli politics for seven decades, and was one of the architects of the Oslo Accords. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Accords in 1994. He is the last surviving link to Israel's Founding Fathers. He served as a member of the Knesset for 48 years, which is the longest term of service in the history of the Knesset.

I met Shimon Peres, alongside then Ambassador Michael Oren a few years back and realized what an amazing man he was. At that time, Peres, was acting as the 9th President of Israel.