“I, Benjamin, son of Tzila and Ben-Zion Netanyahu, pledge as Prime Minister to remain loyal to the State of Israel and its laws, to faithfully fulfill my duties as Prime Minister, and to carry out the decisions of the Knesset.”

With those words, spoken in front of the Knesset Plenum on June 18, 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in and started his first term as prime minister of Israel. 30 years later, Netanyahu is still in office, one of the longest-serving leaders in the democratic world.

On 29 May 1996, Netanyahu narrowly defeated Shimon Peres (Labor Party) in a direct election for the prime minister, and three weeks later the first Netanyahu Government was sworn in. That was the first among six governments he headed. Following a relatively short first term (1996-1999), Netanyahu took a political timeout, only to come back three years later and serve as minister of foreign affairs, and then minister of finance in Ariel Sharon’s cabinets. Netanyahu returned to the office of prime minister following the 2009 elections and remained in the position until 2021. This period in office is the longest consecutive time ever held by an Israeli prime minister.  After about 18 months out of office (during the Bennett-Lapid government), Netanyahu performed a second political comeback following the 2022 elections.

Netanyahu’s six governments

Netanyahu’s early........

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