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Ariel Sharon: a biographical timeline
February 27, 1928 Born Ariel Sheinerman in Kfar Malal 1942 Joins Hagana at age 14, active guarding outlying Jewish settlements 1945 Graduates from Tel Aviv's Geula Secondary school 1948 Commands infantry company in the Alexandroni Brigade during Israel's War of Independence, wounded in Latrun 1951 Serves as Chief Intelligence officer of the Central Command 1952 Serves as Chief Intelligence officer in Northern Command, establishes close alliance with then chief of staff Moshe Dayan 1952 Enrolls at Hebrew University in Jerusalem to study oriental culture and history 1953 Marries first wife Margalit 1953 Founds and leads the special commando unit "101," which participates in reprisal operations in Jordan, Egypt and Syria 1954 Wounded at Kissufim 1956 Serves as commander of Paratroop corps during Sinai Campaign, his troop suffers heavy casualties 1957 Attends Camberley Staff College in Great Britain for advanced military staff command training 1958 Appointed commander of Infantry School 1962 Appointed commander of armored Infantry Brigade 1962 Graduates with LL.B in Law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1962 Wife Margalit killed in automobile accident 1964 Appointed Head of the Northern Command Staff 1964 Marries second wife Lily, the younger sister of Margalit 1966 Appointed Head of the Army Training Department, the youngest ever to hold such a position in the IDF 1967 Six Day War, Sharon's armored division breaks Egyptian front, pushes enemy back across Suez Canal 1969 Appointed Head of the Southern Command Staff 1972 Reprimanded by then Defense Minister Moshe Dayan after being accused of applying unacceptable and unauthorized methods of dealing with terrorists July 1973 Retires from the military with the rank of Major-General 1973 Recalled to active military service in the Yom Kippur War to command an armored division; leads the crossing of the Suez Canal which brought about victory in the war and eventual peace with Egypt December 1973 Elected into Knesset on right-wing Gachal ticket January 20, 1974 Leaves army permanently 1974 Elected to Knesset on Likud ticket, serves as Security Adviser to then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin 1975 Resigns from Knesset 1977 Elected to Knesset on Shlomzion ticket 1977 Joins Herut party; appointed Minister of Agriculture, in which position he actively pursues agricultural cooperation with Egypt 1981 Appointed Defense Minister; serves in this position during Lebanon War which brought about destruction of PLO terrorist infrastructure there; Renews diplomatic relations with African nations; Spearheads first strategic cooperation agreement with the United States Helps bring thousands of Ethiopian Jews into Israel via Sudan 1983 Resigns as Defense Minister after commission finds him indirectly responsible for 1982 massacre of Palestinians at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Lebanese Christians 1983-1984 Remains minister-without-portfolio 1984 Serves as Minister of Industry and Trade until 1990 1985 Concludes Free Trade Agreement with US 1990 Appointed Minister of Construction and Housing and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Immigration and Absorption 1990 Heads program to absorb immigrants from Russia after fall of Soviet Union, which includes construction of 144,000 apartments 1992-1996 Member of Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee 1996 Appointed Minister of National Infrastructure; fosters joint ventures with Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinians; serves as Chairman of Ministerial Committee for Beduin Advancement 1998 Appointed Foreign Minister; heads permanent status negotiations with the Palestinian Authority; meets with US and European leaders to advance the peace process May 1999 Becomes interim Likud party leader after the resignation of Binyamin Netanyahu September 1999 Elected Chairman of the Likud 2000 Second wife Lily dies of cancer 2000 Controversial vist to the al-Aksa mosque February 6, 2001 Elected Prime Minister of 16th Knesset in landslide victory October 2002 National unity government breaks up, forcing Sharon to call elections for early 2003 2003 Likud victory in national elections 2003 Sharon's government accepts the internationally supported road map peace plan, resumes talks with the Palestinians Summer 2005 Pushed by Sharon, the plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank is approved, drawing much resistance from the settler movement and its supporters August 17, 2005 Israel begins the disengagement which is fully completed by early September November 21, 2005 Sharon quits the Likud and establishes center-line party Kadima; many of his colleagues follow December 18, 2005 Suffers minor stroke; returns to work within days January 4, 2005 Suffers massive hemorrhagic stroke; prognosis reported as "extremely bleak" after surgery Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-06 |
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