Shimon Peres, Labor

Shimon Peres is the most veteran member of the Knesset, having been first elected in 1959 when David Ben-Gurion was prime minister.

In 2005 he was appointed Vice Prime Minister in the Sharon government. Peres is also Labor Party chairman.

Peres was born in Vishniev, Poland in 1923. In 1934 he arrived in Tel Aviv with his family.

In 1943, Peres was elected secretary of the Hanoar Haoved (Working Youth) Movement, which was afifiliated with the socialist-Zionist movement.

In 1947, he joined the Haganah - the predecessor of the Israel Defense Forces. As a protege of Ben-Gurion, he was appointed to oversee personnel and arms purchases.

Despite his reputation today as a dovish member of the Labor Party, it can be argued that no one made a greater contribution to Israel's military might than Peres.

In 1953, as Director General of the Defense Ministry, Peres acquired Mirage III fighter jets from France for Israel's fledgling air force. Peres was also responsible for establishing Israel's nuclear program.

Over the past 50 years, Peres has headed a variety of ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Defense, Finance, Immigrant Absorption, Communications, Religious Affairs, Internal Affairs, Regional Cooperation, Information and Transportation.

Peres has also served as prime minister on two occasions: From 1984-1986 in the unity government with Likud according to which he and Yitzhak Shamir each served a two-year term, and from 1995-1996 following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

But despite his political longevity, Peres has had to battle the "loser" label because five times he headed the Labor ticket in the Knesset elections and each time he lost.

In 1994, Peres, Rabin and Yasser Arafat were awarded the Nobel Peace Price for the Oslo Accords.