August 16 1913 – March 9 1992 Dates of office: June 20 1977 – October 10 1983

Menahem Begin was born in the town of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) in Poland on August 16, 1913, to a poor Zionist family. His early schooling was at a yeshiva, and he went on to study at the Jewish school 'Tachkemoni', the Government Gymnasium and the University in Warsaw. At the age of 16, he embraced the ideology of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, and joined the Betar movement. In 1935, he received a degree in law (Magister Yuri), and was at the same time active in the Betar movement. He served as commander of the Brisk region, and was one of nine commissioned officers of the Betar movement in Poland. He was recognized as a talented speaker and prolific writer of articles. Begin did not hesitate to voice his disaccord with Jabotinsky, and thus won the latter's great admiration. In March 1939, Jabotinsky appointed Begin as Betar's commissioner in Poland. In that same year, he married Aliza Arnold, whose father was the head of the Revisionist party in Drohovitz, and they had three children, Ze'ev Binyamin, Hassia and Leah.

During the first few months of World War II, Begin organized Betar groups to immigrate to Israel. In September 1940, he traveled eastwards from Warsaw, and reached Vilnius, which was under Russian control. At that time, he was arrested, and sent to Siberia in June 1941. As a Polish citizen, he was released with other Polish prisoners, and joined the Polish army of General Anders, which arrived in the Land of Israel in 1942. He continued to serve in the Anders Army while simultaneously serving as a Betar Commissioner in the Land of Israel, and maintained strong ties with the Etzel organization (Irgun). In 1943, he was appointed Commander of the 'Irgun', to replace Ya'acov Meridor. Under his command, 'Etzel' undertook many activities, including the bombing of the King David Hotel, the attack on the Akko (Acre) fort, where the 'Irgun' and 'Lehi' prisoners were held, and the conquest of Jaffa. Following the establishment of the State, the Irgun was absorbed into the IDF. In June 1948, the Altalena Affair - during which an Irgun ship refused to relinquish its weapons to the IDF - lead Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to order an attack on the ship, and Begin ordered his men not to return fire in an attempt to prevent a civil war.

In the elections for the First Knesset, Begin's party, the IZL Herut Party received 14 mandates. Begin was a member of Knesset for the next 29 years. In 1952, Begin strenuously objected to the reparations agreement with Germany. In 1965, 'Herut' expanded into the 'Gahal' party (Liberal Freedom Bloc). During the Six Day War in 1967, Levi Eshkol formed a National Unity Government and brought Begin and his party into his Government. For three years, Begin served as Minister without Portfolio, but resigned in 1970 along with the other 'Gahal' ministers, due to their refusal to accept the Rogers Initiative, which included returning territories.

In 1973, the 'Likud' Party was established, and included 'Gahal', the 'National List', the 'Free Center', and 'Activists for the Greater Land of Israel.' On June 20, 1977, Menahem Begin became Prime Minister. One and a half years later, Begin, Sadat and Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, and their delegations held discussions at Camp David in the United States. Six months later, on March 26 1979, a peace agreement with Egypt was signed in Washington. Begin and Sadat jointly accepted the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. In June 1981, Begin ordered a bombing raid on the nuclear reactor in Iraq. Following the assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981, Begin continued the implementation of the agreement to withdraw from the Sinai by April 1982.

As a result of an assassination attempt on the Israeli Ambassador to London, the Lebanon War, referred to as 'Operation Peace for the Galilee', broke out on June 6, 1982. Begin hoped that the operation would end within days, and would not reach farther north than 40 kilometers from the Israeli border. However, the war became drawn out and complicated, and the developments and disagreements surrounding the war left their mark on Begin. His increasing physical weakness and grief following the death of his wife, combined with his statement that he would resign at the age of 70, led Begin to announce his retirement on September 15, 1983. Following his retirement, Begin went into seclusion without offering any explanation.

Begin wrote hundreds of papers and four books: “The Revolt” (1951), “Life View and National View” (1952), “White Nights” (1953), and “In the Underground” (A-D, 1961).

The Menachem Begin Heritage Center