Rabin, Yitzhak (1922–1995)

Yitzhak Rabin was one of Israel's most influential and controversial leaders. A general, politician, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he held a number of military and diplomatic posts. He was involved in all of Israel's major wars and served as prime minister of Israel twice, from 1974 to 1977 and from 1992 to 1995. In his second term, he oversaw peace talks leading to the signing of the Oslo Accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Rabin was assassinated at the age of 73 by a Jewish extremist.

Rabin was born in Jerusalem to Russian immigrant parents. In Israel's 1948 War of Independence, he commanded the Jerusalem Harel Brigade. This led him to the post of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) head of operations in 1950, and IDF chief of staff in 1964. He led the IDF to overwhelming victory in 1967, after which he moved into politics as ambassador to the United States. When Golda Meir resigned as prime minister of Israel in the aftermath of the disillusioning 1973 war, Rabin became Israel's fifth prime minister and the first of his generation. In this position, he signed an interim peace agreement with Egypt. After Rabin retired over a minor banking scandal in 1977, longtime political rival Shimon Peres assumed control of the Labor Party, which subsequently lost elections to the right-wing Likud Party. Rabin remained involved in politics, and from 1984 to 1990, he served as defense minister in a national unity government, overseeing the sometimes controversial IDF response to the Palestinian popular uprising known as the First Intifada.

In 1992, Labor Party primaries returned Rabin to the leadership of his party in place of Peres. Rabin then returned to the prime ministership following a campaign in which his personality was central. As prime minister, he oversaw the signing of a Declaration of Principles laying out a phased transfer of autonomy to Palestinian Arabs of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Subsequently, he signed the Oslo Accords, enfranchising the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and allowing for the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. He also oversaw the signing of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. Together with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, Rabin was recognized for his efforts with the Nobel Peace Prize.

The peace process was a highly polarizing force in Israeli society, and on November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing religious and political extremist named Yigal Amir following a peace rally. His funeral was attended by many world leaders. Remembered as a man of peace, Rabin became a national symbol, and a memorial day was instituted in Israel for the day of his death.