Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel, dies at 85
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Ariel Sharon, the former Prime Minister of Israel, died today at the Sheba Medical Center just outside Tel Aviv after his conditioned worsened significantly over the last few days. Sharon had been in a coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006.
Before becoming a politician, Sharon served in the army, having joined the Haganah at age fourteen — the Jewish paramilitary operating in the British Mandate of Palestine before the founding of the State of Israel.
Sharon was elected to the Knesset in 1973, then took a number of ministerial roles in the government including as a security adviser to Yitzhak Rabin, terms as minister of agriculture, defence, trade and industry, construction and housing, and national infrastructure. He became Foreign Minister in 1998 and Prime Minister in 2001. In 2005, Sharon left the Likud Party to form Kadima and pursued a policy of unilateral disengagement.
Sharon was married twice: his first wife Margalit died in 1962, his second wife Lily died in 2000. He is survived by two sons.
Related news
- "Ariel Sharon's condition worsens" — Wikinews, August 14, 2006
- "Israeli PM Ariel Sharon declared 'permanently incapacitated'" — Wikinews, April 11, 2006
- "Ariel Sharon's brain shows activity" — Wikinews, January 14, 2006
- "Israeli PM Sharon rushed to hospital" — Wikinews, January 4, 2006
Sources
- "Israel's ex-PM Ariel Sharon dies, aged 85" — BBC News Online, January 11, 2014
- "Ariel Sharon Dead: Army Radio Reports Death" — Sky News, January 11, 2014
- Kevin Connolly. "Ariel Sharon's mark on history" — BBC News Online, January 11, 2014
- "Obituary: Ariel Sharon" — BBC News Online, January 11, 2014
- Robert Tait. "Ariel Sharon dies aged 85" — The Telegraph, January 11, 2014