Natan Sharansky

Natan Sharansky was first elected to the Knesset in 1996, but he is known world-wide for his imprisonment in the former Soviet Union.

Sharansky was born in 1948 in Russia and immigrated to Israel in 1986.

He was elected to the Knesset in 1996, 1999 and 2003 as a member of Yisrael B'Aliyah, the Russian immigrant party which he founded, and later merged with Likud.

Sharansky has served in several ministerial posts, including Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Minister of Trade, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Housing and Construction and Deputy Prime Minister.

When he was living in the Soviet union, Sharansky was arrested in 1977 on suspicion of spying for the United States. He was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Sharansky came to Israel in 1986 as part of a U.S.-Soviet spy exchange.

During his imprisonment, Sharansky became a symbol for human rights in general and Soviet Jewry in particular. But today some criticize Sharansky for holding right-wing positions concerning Israel's conflict with the Palestinians in light of his own personal experience.

Sharansky was spokesman of the Jewish and Refusnik Movement in Moscow.

Sharansky is the author of The Case For Democracy, which was praised by U.S. President George W. Bush.