Moshe Sharett

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Moshe Sharett (born Moshe Shertok, October 15, 1894 - July 7, 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel (1953-1955), serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.

Stamp issued by the State of Israel in honor of Moshe Sharett.
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Stamp issued by the State of Israel in honor of Moshe Sharett.

Born in Ukraine, Moshe Sharett emigrated to Palestine in 1908. His family was one of the founders of Tel Aviv.

Fluent in Arabic, he was employed as an official within the nascent Histadrut labor union. From 1933 to 1948, he guided negotiations between the Zionist movement and the British Mandate of Palestine, which led to the creation of the State of Israel.

Sharret's sister Rivka, Dov Hoz's wife, wife died in December of 1940 in a car crash in December of 1940.

Due to this experience, Moshe Sharett became the first Foreign Minister of Israel. His pivotal achievement was the 1949 Armistice Agreements, which ended official hostilities between Israel and the Arab states during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Sharett became Prime Minister following the retirement of Ben-Gurion. Considered to be a moderate, he advocated diplomacy with neighboring states, but was quickly displaced again by Ben-Gurion.

Moshe Sharett served as Foreign Minister (1956), and then became the Chairman of the Jewish Agency until 1960.


Preceded by:
David Ben-Gurion
Prime Minister of Israel
19531955
Succeeded by:
David Ben-Gurion
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