Amir Peretz is leader of the Histadrut Labor Federation, Israel's most powerful labor union, and a member of Knesset for One Nation - Labor.
Peretz was elected to the Knesset as a member of One Nation, which later formed a coalition with the Labor Party.
He was born in Morocco in 1952 and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1956.
As leader of the powerful labor union, Peretz maintains a heated, ongoing rivalry with Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the latters efforts to slash the state budget, privatize and cut salaries and benefits for public workers.
Peretz's post as Histadrut leader makes him one of the country's most influential figures when it comes to economic issues.
Peretz began his political career in Sderot, where in the 1980s he served as chairman of the City Council. In 1988 he was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party. In 1995 Peretz was elected chairman of the Histadrut Labor Federation.
In 1999, Peretz broke from Labor to form the the One Nation party, but his faction later joined Labor.
He is married with four children.
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