A person who gets into politics ceases to belong to himself. This is a well-known truth. Few people are capable of sustaining this kind of transformation. Shimon Peres brilliantly coped with the duties of the president of the country.
Childhood and youth
The modern state of Israel was formed in difficult conditions. Among the people who were at the head of the country, the person of Shimon Peres is of great interest. The future president of the country was born on August 2, 1923 in an ordinary Jewish family. Parents lived in the modest village of Vishnevo, located on the territory of modern Belarus. My father was engaged in the trade in lumber and firewood. Mother worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature. The maternal grandfather had a great influence on the upbringing and formation of the boy's personality.
Regular communication with his grandfather, who served as a rabbi in the local community, the future president assessed as very fruitful. From him he learned the main milestones in the history of the Jewish people. I joined the reading of the Torah. At the same time, Rabbi Hirsch Melzer read to his grandson the works of Russian writers Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. The boy was not even five years old when he began to compose poetry. It is interesting to note that Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian were spoken in the Peresov house. In addition to this set, Shimon mastered the Polish language at school.
When the boy was eleven years old, the Peresov family moved to Israel. Grandfather Hirsch stayed at home and died with his relatives under Nazi bullets during the occupation. Before the start of World War II, people from different countries and continents came to the territory of the future Jewish state. Shimon received his secondary education at the gymnasium, which was located not far from his home. After graduation, he worked for the time prescribed by the rules in a labor school. Here he joined the ranks of the socialist organization Working Youth.
Starting conditions
The active and observant young man was noticed and invited into the ranks of the liberation organization "Hagan". Peres was assigned to deal with the supply of weapons, ammunition and provisions. After the UN General Assembly decided in 1949 to create the State of Israel, he was appointed one of the heads of the Defense Ministry's mission in the United States. Successfully fulfilling government functions, Shimon completed a training course at Harvard University. In addition to this, he mastered English, which he did not know at all.
Already at that time, the future president was creatively comprehending the prospects for the development of the young state. In a short period of time, Peres has done a tremendous job of preparing for the creation of industrial potential in Israel. He paid special attention to mechanical engineering. In 1953, when Peres was not yet thirty years old, he was appointed Minister of Defense of the country. At that time, Shimon turned out to be the youngest minister in the government of the young state. In this post, he carried out serious reforms in the structure of the ministry. Under him, enterprises began to carry out military orders from third-party companies and countries.
As part of the implementation of promising projects for the development of the Israeli economy, Defense Minister Peres has established close cooperation with the military-industrial complex of France. With the help of French specialists, the first nuclear research center began functioning in the country. The Israeli army began to receive tanks, artillery installations, combat aircraft and radar tracking stations. French instructors conducted tactical exercises in the units of the Israeli army.
Downs and ups
Shimon Peres's work as Minister of Defense did not go unnoticed. However, in conditions of political instability, a coalition of opponents was formed in the government. Peres had to leave government service and build a political career. Together with like-minded people, he formed the Labor movement, which was commonly called the Party of Labor. In 1969, the party won parliamentary elections and formed a government. Peres got the portfolio of the Minister of Absorption. The department dealt with the issues of attracting and placing emigrants.
For several years, Perez held various positions in the government of the country. The famous politician often found himself in the minority when discussing important problems for the country. Shimon did not abandon his ideas on the creation of a territory of peaceful cooperation in the Middle East. In 2006, he was entrusted with the post of prime minister. And the next year he was elected president of Israel. According to the Constitution, the presidential term lasts seven years. During this period, industrial and agricultural production increased in the country. Agreements were reached on the conditions for peaceful coexistence with neighboring countries.
Awards and personal life
Shimon Peres refused to run for a second presidential term. Remaining in the status of a free citizen, he devoted his efforts and time to activities within the framework of his own foundation called the "Center for Peace". For his multifaceted work, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the US Congress Gold Medal. The Queen of Great Britain elevated him to the rank of a knight.
The personal life of the ninth president of Israel can serve as a role model. He met his wife Sonya in 1945. The husband and wife raised and raised two sons and a daughter. Shimon Peres died in the fall of 2016 at the ninety-third year of life.
