שמעון פרס Szymon Perski
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Awards
Shimon Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in the Oslo Accords. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1995 to 1996, and was elected President in 2007. Peres held numerous ministerial positions and authored several books on peace. He died in 2016 at age 93 from complications of a stroke.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Shimon Peres — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Shimon Peres by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Shimon Peres — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born in 1923 in Wiszniewo, Poland now Vishnyeva, Belarus, Shimon Peres emigrated with his family to British Palestine in 1934. His father Isaac Peres was a timber merchant, and his mother Sara Meltzer was a schoolteacher. Peres attended Ironi Alef High School and later studied at New York University and Harvard, though he did not complete a degree. His early experiences as a child in Poland, fleeing anti-Semitism, shaped his later political career.
Peres entered politics in the 1940s, serving as Deputy Minister of Defense under David Ben-Gurion. He was elected to the Knesset in 1959 for the Mapai party. He held numerous ministerial positions including Minister of Transportation, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became Prime Minister in 1984, leading a national unity government. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 alongside Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. After losing the 1996 election, he remained active in politics. In 2007, he was elected President of Israel, a role he held until 2014. Peres also authored books such as Battling for Peace 1995 and The New Middle East 1993.
Peres married Sonya Gelman in May 1945, and they had three children: Tsvia, Yoni, and Chemi. His wife Sonya was a private person who avoided the public eye. Peres was a relative of actress Lauren Bacall; both shared the original surname Perske. He lived in Tel Aviv and later in Ramat Gan.
Shimon Peres is remembered as a key architect of the Oslo Accords, which won him the Nobel Peace Prize. He received numerous honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2012 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014. After his death in 2016, he was eulogized worldwide as a visionary for peace. A commemorative postage stamp was issued by Israel in 2017. Peres’s legacy remains as a statesman who pursued peace for decades.
Browse the complete filmography of Shimon Peres — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Shimon Peres — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Shimon Peres's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
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A wall of memorable lines from Shimon Peres — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
When You Win a War, Your People Are United and Applaud You. When You Make Peace, Your People Are Doubtful and Resentful.
Television Has Made Dictatorship Impossible but Democracy Unbearable.
The President of Iran Should Remember That Iran Can Also Be Wiped off the Map.
If a Problem Has No Solution, It May Not Be a Problem but a Fact That Must Be Coped With.
Iran Is a Great Problem, but Not Necessarily a Great Country. in Fact, I Think It Is a Very Weak Country.
When We Started Sixty Four Years Ago, We Were 650,000 People. So, You Know, We Are Maybe Swimming a Little Bit Against the Stream, but We Continue to Swim. Israel Has It’s Attractions. It’s the Most Dramatic Country in the World. Everybody’s Engaged. Everybody Argues. When I Leave Israel, I Get a Little Bit Bored, You Know?
I Think That Peace Should Be Done Not Only Among Governments but Among People. It Was Impossible Before Facebook.
I Cannot Recall Anything a Terrorist Achieved but Killing People.
Leaders Must Go Ahead Even When Moving Ahead Is Controversial. You Must Be Ahead of Time Because, If You Want to Represent the Status Quo, What Do You Need Leaders For?
Little-known facts about Shimon Peres — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
His family emigrated from Poland when he was a child, making him the last Prime Minister of Israel born in the diaspora.
He was elected President of Israel on June 13, 2007, becoming the first former Israeli Prime Minister to hold that position.
He was a relative of American actress Lauren Bacall, with both sharing the original surname Perske. In a 2014 interview after Bacall’s death, Peres stated he was unsure of the exact connection, though they were not first cousins.
He was awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
He was a member of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, for five different parties beginning in 1959.
He held numerous government positions including Minister of Transportation, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Finance.
He also served as Deputy Minister of Defense, Chairman of the Labour Party, and Vice President of the Socialist International.
He authored 10 books, including Battling for Peace 1995, The New Middle East 1993, and Entebbe Diary 1991.
He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1995 to 1996.
He was a candidate for the presidency of Israel in the 2000 election, but Moshe Katsav won the seven-year term.
He had three children: Tzvia, Yoni, and Chemi.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012.
He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal on June 9, 2014.
He is depicted on a 2.40 shekel Israeli commemorative postage stamp issued on September 12, 2017.
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