Shimon Peres ( listen ; Hebrew: שמעון פרס; born Szymon Perski; August 2, 1923 – September 28, 2016) was an Israeli politician who served both as ninth President of Israel, (2007 to 2014) and Prime Minister of Israel, as well as Interim Prime Minister. He was a member of twelve cabinets in a political career spanning nearly 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, was in office continuously until 2007, when he became President, being in that role for another seven years. At the time of his retirement in 2014, he was the...