Itzhak Rabin

Biography

After completing his schooling, he volunteered for the Palmach, where he began his military career. He served in the Palmach and the Israel Defence Forces(IDF) for 27 years. In 1949 he was a member of the Israeli delegation for the first negotiations with Egypt.

1968, January 1st: Retired from service in the IDF, where he had served as Chief of Staff, including during the Six Day War. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed Israeli Ambassador to Washington.

1973: He returned to Jerusalem, and became active in theLabor party. In the December elections he was elected to the Knesset (Israeli Parlament), and when Golda Meir formed her Government in April 1974, he was appointed Minister of Labor.

1974, June 2nd: Rabin became Israel's 7th prime minister.

1976, June: The government headed by Rabin, ordered the Entebbe operation.

1977, May: Following the Labor's defeat in the elections, Rabin served as a member of the Knesset in opposition.

1984, September: Rabin served as Minister of Defence in the national unity government (until 1990).

1985, January: He presented to the government the proposal for the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon and the establishment of a security zone guaranteeing peace to the settlements along Israel's Northern border.

1989, May: The government of Israel adopted his plan for an arrangement with the Palestinians, in stages, which has served as the basis for the recent peace making efforts.

1992, February: He was elected chairman of the Israel Labor party.

1992, June: Yitzhak Rabin was elected to head the Israeli government.

His premiership was marked by the following landmarks in the peace process:

1993, September 13: At the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles on the White House lawn, Prime Minister Rabin shook hands with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

1994, October 26th: On the Israel-Jordan border, he signed the Treaty of Peace between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

1995, September 28th: He was a signatory to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

1995, December: Rabin was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

1995, November 4th: Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin was assassinated while attending a peace rally in Tel-Aviv, at a square which would later be named after him. He was shot in the back by Igal Amir, who is serving a life sentence for the murder.