Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu, known as Bibi, born October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, having led the country across three separate terms, from 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021, and 2022 onward. He served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1967 to 1973 in the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit, taking part in operations including the Battle of Karameh and the hostage rescue aboard Sabena Flight 571, before earning degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and studying at Harvard and working as a management consultant. His first term, beginning in 1996, made him the first Israeli prime minister elected directly by popular vote; during his second and longest tenure, from 2009 to 2021, he aligned closely with the administration of United States President Donald Trump, whose government recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and brokered the Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states. In 2019 he was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud and relinquished his ministerial portfolios other than the premiership, and in November 2024 the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.