Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, General Ariel (Arik) Sharon (Scheinermann) – A general, commander, politician and leader
February 26, 1928 – January 12, 2014
Sharon was born in Kfar Malal in 1928
In 1945 he joined the Haganah and graduated from a squad commanders' course
In 1947 he served in The Jewish Settlement Police.
In the War of Independence Sharon served as platoon commander in battalion 32, Alexandroni Brigade. He was severely wounded in the first Latrun battle, an event that deeply influenced if life.
In 1949 he was appointed a company commander, and later commanded the Golani Brigade reconnaissance company.
In 1949 he graduated from a battalion command course, and in 1951 he was appointed as the Intelligence Officer of the Central Command.
In 1952 he served as the Intelligence Officer of the Northern Command.
In 1952 – 1953 Sharon studied history and Middle East studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Due to the escalation in terror activities, Sharon was appointed to establish and command Unit 101 (August 1953), to carry out reprisal operations in enemy territory. In January 1954, Unit 101 was amalgamated into the paratrooper battalion 890, commanded by Sharon. The operations beyond enemy lines continued after Sharon was appointed to command Brigade 202, Paratroopers. In 1956 during the Sinai War (1956) He led the Brigade at the battles of the Mitla and Gidhi passes. In 1957 Sharon participated in a staff and command course in England.
In 1962 he was appointed to command Armored Brigade 60. Later he occupied the positions of Infantry School Commander and Head of Army Training Branch, achieving in 1966, at 38 years old, the rank of Aluf (Major General). In the Six Day War, Sharon, Heading Armored Division 38, broke through the Kusseima-Abu-Ageila fortified area. Sharon's victories and offensive strategy in the Battle of Abu-Ageila earned him the international commendation of military strategists.
In 1969 Sharon was appointed Chief of the Southern Command, where he led a series of operations against Palestinian infiltrators, to defeat the terrorists in the Gaza Strip, and to evacuate the Bedouins from Northern Sinai. The Gaza operation was severely criticized for breaches of human rights. Sharon also objected to the "Bar-Lev Line."
In 1973 Sharon retired from active military service, and was appointed as commander of reserve armored division 143, in subordination to his replacement as head of the Southern Command, Major General Shmuel Gonen. In the Yom Kippur War, Sharon, commanding the division, led the crossing of the Suez Canal – thus turning the tide in the war.
In December 1973, Sharon became a member of the 8th Knesset. In December 1974 he resigned and was appointed to an emergency command in the IDF. From June 1975 to March 1976 he served as a special advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 1977 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture in Menachem Begin's first government.
Following the 1981 general election, Sharon was appointed Minister of Defense, and was involved in all stages of the planning and execution of the First Lebanon War (June 1982). On September 16, following the murder of Lebanon's President, Christian Falange forces entered the Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila, perpetrating a massacre. Following the report of a commission of inquiry into the massacre Sharon was forced to resign from his post and remained a government minister without portfolio. In the 1980's, 1990's Sharon served as Minister of Industry and Commerce, construction, national infrastructures and as Foreign Minister.
In 2001 Sharon was elected as Prime Minister, just prior to the second Palestinian Intifada. In 2003 Sharon initiated the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip and four Jewish settlements in Northern Samaria.
On January 4, 2006 Sharon suffered a stroke and was in a state of coma until his death in 2014.
In Sharon's honor, The IDF and Defense Establishment Archive's website presents important documents and photographs from Ariel Sharon's life.